It Was The Best Christmas Yet,Charlie Brown
by Animatic Psychopath
Summary: In the next chapter of the Peanuts musical series,it is Christmas yet again in Sparkyville and now that Ed is coming over for the holidays,the Peanuts gang go through some of the craziest holiday experiences they could ever have. PEANUTS characters created by Charles M Shultz and owned by DHX Media. Only OC's featured are my own.
1. Chapter 1: A Special Delivery

It Was The Best Christmas Yet,Charlie Brown: A Peanuts Musical

Chapter 1: A Special Delivery

Wintertime is commonly known to be one of the most magical and pleasant times of the year for your average everyday family,it almost always consisted of kids playing out in the snow on their days off from school,family members coming together for sometimes the first time in months,and who could of course forget the holiday to top all holidays held on the 25'th of December known as Christmas,as well as other people from other cultures and backgrounds celebrating Hanukkah and Kwanzaa?

It was a cold and breezy winter night in the downtown area of a typical everyday city,the snow was lightly and gently falling at a nice and slow pace,and the city streets were covered with piles and piles of snow and some of them were even frozen by ice. The lamp posts were all turned on at every street corner and they gave the snow and everything that would pass by it a yellow shade and tint. On one of the many streets and walkways,a young,thin woman wearing a black cloak over most of her body aside from her bright blue eyes was slowly walking across the sidewalk,and she seemed to be carrying something in a small cardboard box although it couldn't be seen due to a small baby blanket covering the top of it,not to mention that there was absolutely no one else out at this time who could possibly spot her.

The woman continued to slowly walk at a nice and comfortable pace until she eventually walked past a wooden sign placed by a small mansion like building that read in big red letters "Sparkyville Orphanage For The Abandoned And Needy." and the woman instantly stopped in her tracks when she saw it. She stood there right in front of the sign for almost a minute until she slowly pulled over the top of the baby blanket in the box to reveal a sleeping baby boy with a tiny pair of red pajamas as the woman sighed and nervously told herself "You can do this,you know this is the best thing for him." before she looked back down at the infant and reassured him in a loving voice "You'll be okay here. I promise." Afterwards she recovered the baby with his blanket and slowly started to walk towards the orphanage.

_**Woman: **__Let the stars in the sky remind us of man's compassion. Let us all love till we die and god bless us everyone. In your heart there's a night as bright as a star in Heaven. Let it shine through the night and god bless us everyone._

Once the woman had walked up the steps that led to the orphanage's front door,she slowly sat the box down at the doorway,slid off the top of the baby's blankets and somberly remarked "Oh my darling,having to live without me at young,but I know that one day you will find a home better than anything I could provide,and me and God will always be with you. Until then,work hard,be brave,and above all…...do not let your heart grow bitter." before she leaned in downwards and kissed the baby on the head and bid him farewell "Goodbye,I love you Edward." to which she rose up,rung the doorbell and slowly begun to walk away.

_Star by star in the sky and kindness by human kindness. Let us love till we die and god bless us everyone. God bless us everyone._

Once the woman started walking down the street and heading back the way she came,she suddenly stopped right in her tracks when she could faintly hear the door behind her open as she turned around to see the shadow of another person picking up the baby on the city pavement.

* * *

***10 Years Later.***

It was yet another dark and cold winter night in the woods and the forest floor was covered with nothing but mounds and hills of snow while it continued to fall. However it seemed that the forest was not alone due to the fact that a small figure wearing a very thick,brown winter jacket along with a black hood over its head was making its way through it,the figure was holding a small lantern that shone bright yellow light through the trees. The figure continued to make its way through the forest and trudged through the thick and heavy snow until it suddenly stopped and sat down on a nearby log.

"Oh boy,man I hate winter." The figure stated in a very thick and out of breath southern accent as it took off its hood to reveal that he was actually none other than the hermit known as Ed before he suddenly noticed that the snow had stopped falling and remarked while he looked up at the sky to see that it was slowly brightening up "Looks Like morning is on its way. Finally. I don't need to keep the gang in Sparkyville waiting." Afterwards Ed jumped right off the log,put his hood back on and picked his lantern back up as he continued to make his way through the forest with Sparkyville as his destination. Speaking of which,back in the little town known as Sparkyville,the sun was slowly but surely starting to rise over the hills and trees,and the numerous piles of snow were now bright orange and yellow and were starting to slightly melt.

_Under the snow,beneath the frozen streams there is life. _

_You have to know when nature sleeps she dreams there is life. _

_And the colder winter,the warmer the spring,the deeper the sorrow,the more our hearts sing,even when you can't see it inside everything,there is life. _

Pretty soon more and more of the local animals were starting to wake up including numerous birds and pets,and even some ducks had flown their way onto the frozen that many of the kids used,only for a duckling to fly down,accidentally slip and slide right into the older birds. Not to mention that plenty of kids had suddenly burst right through their front doors with all their snow geer on and were now playing in the snow.

_After the rain,the sun will reappear there is life (there is life.) _

_After the pain,the joy will still be here there is life. _

_For it's out of the darkness that we learn to see,and out of the silence that songs comes to be,and all that we dream of awaits patiently,there is life! _

_(There is!) There is life! Oooooo. _

"**God Bless Us Everyone" A Christmas Carol 2004 ****Copyright Of JAY Productions **

**"There Is Life" Copyright Of Walt Disney Records.**


	2. Chapter 2: Wintertime Fun

Chapter 2: Wintertime Fun

In the middle of a small and typical cul-de-sac inside one of the many houses that shared the same space and street,a young girl with very messy blonde hair was slowly beginning to open her eyes and wake up,and despite feeling a heavy urge inside her to just go back to sleep for the rest of the day,she ultimately decided to get on up and embrace the rest of the day like a normal person. The girl quietly looked over to her left to see a bright yellow light behind her curtains and blind shut windows before she slowly turned her head to the right to see that the time was 7:30 AM on her digital alarm clock. Rebecca Hornwell or more specifically Henderson now that she was living with the Henderson couple in Sparkyville for almost half a year now,was still getting used to the fact that she now lived in a real neighborhood and with a real family away from her former adoptive mother Mrs Hampton,who was now rotting away in prison,and for good reason.

It wasn't like Rebecca had never had this feeling before in her life,it was just that she hadn't lived like this in such a long time that it almost felt like she never had it at all as she remarked to herself with a yawn "Oh man,five months and I have to keep reminding myself that I'm living here now. Wow." before she glanced over at a marked calendar on the back of her bedroom door and saw that it was December 10'th,exactly fifteen days until Christmas,the first day of her winter vacation away from school,and 5 days until her birthday December 15'th where she would turn eleven years old.

"Man time flies." Rebecca sighed and stated with a hint of awe that it was already five months since she moved here and that she would already be turning eleven in five days before she suddenly perked up out of shock when she heard something slam on her bedroom window,quickly followed by something else hitting it before Rebecca heard the familiar voice of Peppermint Patty call from the outside "Hey Rebecca! Come on out here girl,it's the first day of winter vacation!" to which the girl rolled her eyes and playfully retorted while she opened up the window to see Patty,Marcie and Franklin looking up at her with their snow gear on "You couldn't have just come to the front door Patty?"

Peppermint Patty,Marcie and Franklin were arguably Rebecca's closest friends aside from Charlie Brown of course due to the fact that she was living on their side of town,and it almost felt like it was meant to be since she had Patty's passion for sports and entertainment,Marcie's more intelligent and sophisticated side,and Franklin's habit of being a mishmash of everything. Not to mention that they had the same classes and teachers at school,so it practically felt like they were made to be friends with each other.

"Hey I thought this would be a better way to get your attention." Patty shrugged her arms and playfully explained herself and her reasoning for throwing most likely snowballs at Rebecca's window as Marcie nonchalantly joked in response "Well you sure got her attention then sir." before Franklin added lastly "Well let's hope not everyone's then,remember what happened with the baseball incident?"

"Oh please do not remind me of that Franklin,that's five hours of my life I'll never get back." Rebecca groaned and pleaded in an over the top manor and tone of voice as Franklin nodded his head and polietly obliged "As you wish princess." However it was then and there that Rebecca suddenly noticed that there were small,personal sized sleds on the ground next to her friends as she pointed at them and asked out of curiosity "Hey guys,what's with the sleds?" to which Patty looked down at them for a brief moment before she cheerfully replied while she held up one of the sleds "Oh yeah these,we're gonna go over to Chuck's side of town and meet the others at his place,the skating pond over there is killer,and just to make it more interesting,we'll use these bad boys to make the trip."

Rebecca then started to grow a huge look of intrigue on her face as she perked up and enthusiastically stated "Oh nice,I-I'll be right out guys." before she quickly shut her bedroom window and started to prepare while Franklin chuckled and playfully shouted from the outside "You better or else we're leaving without you!" It didn't take very long for Rebecca to get herself ready since one of the things she was explicitly well known for in the gang was her ability to do things very quickly,she was generally a fast talker,a fast worker,and overall she just had a very bright and chipper mood the majority of the time. After about 2 minutes Rebecca was already packed up and ready to go since she stood in front of a mirror in the living room to reveal that she now wore a bright pink jacket with a pink and fluffy beanie on her head,but there was just one little thing missing,her sled.

"Oh yeah my sled!" Rebecca suddenly perked up and exclaimed in a panic as she quickly rushed towards the closet in her bedroom and grabbed her wooden sled out of it before she rushed right on outside. Patty,Marcie and Franklin were patiently waiting near the mailbox and Marcie seemed to be holding a small ticking time watch as she pleasantly remarked when she saw Rebecca running towards them "That's a brand new record sir. Only took her 2 minutes and 10 seconds this time." to which Patty laughed and cheerfully asked Rebecca "Gee Rebecca,how do you manage to do things so quickly. I'd like to see you try a food eating contest."

After everyone had a quick laugh as a result of Patty's little joke,Rebecca held up her sled and enthusiastically suggested with a serious game face "Let's go sledding!" to which Franklin suddenly darted right towards a steep snow hull and retorted "All right,last one to Charlie Brown's place is a rotten egg!" before he jumped right on his sled and rode down the hill as Patty,Marcie and Rebecca frantically followed after him. If they were gonna head over to Charlie Brown's side of town,they were gonna do it in fun and style.

_**Rebecca's Thoughts: **__Seems like I've spent my whole life hopin',dreaming of things I've never tried,tangled in knots just waitin' for my time to shine. _

_What if the doors began to open? What if the knots became untied? What if one day nothing stood in my and the world was mine? Would it feel this fine?_

'_Cause I've got the wind in my hair and a gleam in my eyes and an endless horizon. I've got a smile on my face and I'm walkin' on air. And everything life outta be,it's all gonna happen to me out there,and I'll find it I swear,with the wind in my hair. _

_So many roads I've yet to travel,so many friends I haven't met,so many new adventures just around the bend._

_Plenty of mysteries to unravel,tons of mistakes to not regret,so much to see,and to do,and to be a whole life to spend,and it doesn't end._

_And I've got the wind in my hair and a song in my heart and the fun's only starting. I've got a skip in my step and I haven't a care. That beautiful breeze blowin' through,it's going carry me who knows where,but I'll take any dare with the wind in my hair! _

_I've got a smile on my face and I'm walkin' on air! And everything life outta be,well I know that it's waiting for me out there,and I'll find it I swear with the wind in my hair! _

"**Wind In My Hair" Copyright Of Walt Disney Records**


	3. Chapter 3: Fun In A Winter Wonderland

Chapter 3: Fun In A Winter Wonderland

So while Rebecca and her three friends were well on their way to Charlie Brown's side of Sparkyville thanks to their sleds,Charlie Brown himself was busy getting himself ready for the day in his bedroom. He was honestly in quite the cheerful and optimistic mood which could be considered odd for him,but considering all the things that had been happening in his life for the year such as bringing Rebecca home to Sparkyville as well as this Christmas season looking like it was gonna be a good time for all,there really was no reason for him to be the way he typically was.

Like mentioned before Charlie Brown was getting ready to go outside in front of a mirror on the back of his bedroom door and he was wearing a red jacket underneath his traditional attire along with a fluffy brown hat before he looked out his window and up at the bright yellow morning sky and quietly said to himself "Christmastime is here yet again Charles,I know you were a little down and gloomy on the whole concept the last couple years,with your job of taking care of the Christmas pageant really not helping things until later that night,but now I think is the time for you to sit back,relax and have yourself a nice Christmas for once. Rebecca is here,there's a chance that maybe Ed will stop on by,and there's also Rebecca's birthday party in a couple days. This is gonna be a good winter Charles. Just go with whatever comes your way and things will work out,I know it."

Afterwards he made his way out of his bedroom and decided to walk around his house for a short while,all the while he was thinking about how this winter season would likely be the best one in years.

_A boy looks up and sees a golden gift of chance._

_To prove his worth and make the best of what might seem a dire circumstance._

_Onward and onward the slow and steady climb. _

_Task upon task that can lift him to the summit over time._

_You've got to take whatever roads at your feet,you've got to make whatever progress you can,although the map you hold is far from complete,you've got to take whatever roads at your feet._

* * *

Meanwhile out in Charlie Brown's backyard on top of a bright red doghouse,there was an exceptionally large and lumpy pile of snow on the very top of it as what appeared to be two canaries flew on down on top of it. One of them was bright yellow and the other one was light blue instead with a red bow on the top of its head. Woodstock and Amy were probably the most unexpected couple in Sparkyville's history because of the fact that one of Woodstock's friends was always saying that he needed a girlfriend,yet he never actually sought one out for any reason. It was only by complete accident that he ended up falling in love with Rebecca's bird friend Amy when he first saw her,same for her as well for falling in love with him despite her generally being cautious around strangers.

It seemed that Amy and Woodstock were looking for someone as they both walked around the huge pile of snow and called out to them in confusion before something shot wide awake from under them and sat up,causing the two birds to instead be perched on the top of its head. Snoopy was always one to enjoy Wintertime along with the rest of the gang,especially when they would go out to the frozen pond and either skate or play a friendly game of hockey,but that didn't mean he wouldn't get annoyed whenever he was buried by snow that would fall throughout the night.

"Hey!" The three animals happily greeted each other in unison when they finally noticed one another as they all came together for a friendly hug before Charlie Brown suddenly walked up to them and calmly stated "Hey you three,we're gonna be going out to the pond,if you wanna come along then you can. I suggest you three get yourselves ready." to which the three of them cheered in excitement and began jumping up and dancing in the air. Charlie Brown rolled his eyes and quietly mumbled to himself as he begun to make his way out of the backyard "I think Amy's been around those two for too long." before he suddenly felt something jump on his left shoulder to which he looked over to the left to see none other than Rebecca's toad friend Jasper.

Ever since Rebecca had moved over across the town,Jasper sort of became an unofficial second pet of Charlie Brown's because he always seemed to stick around in his room and generally around his house. Maybe it was so he could stay close to Amy who was literally in the backyard 90% of the time,or maybe it was because he had taken a liking to this part of the neighborhood for the small amount of time he was there. Charlie Brown as a result had been doing the bare minimum to provide for him which included getting him a small glass container that he set on his bedroom desk which included a small door on the bottom for the toad to get through whenever he wanted to go in or out. When it came to food however,that was an area where no help from Charlie Brown was even required since he mainly just ate the local bugs in the neighborhood,and it was pretty safe to say that he was a good tool for taking out house flies and the like.

"Oh,hi there Jasper I didn't see you there." Charlie Brown greeted the toad out of a slight sense of surprise as the toad merely croaked in a deep sounding tone before the boy suddenly heard the loud calling of his friends from the front yard "COME ON CHARLIE BROWN!" to which he hurried on back through the house and frantically told himself "That's my cue."

* * *

"Morning everyone." Charlie Brown cheerfully greeted everyone as he opened up his front door to be met with the sight of Lucy,Linus,Scheroder,Violet,Patty Swanson,Pig-Pen,Freida,Shermy and Scheroder all in their snow gear and with their skating shoes in their hands. The only ones who seemed to be absent were Peppermint Patty,Marcie,Franklin and Rebecca,but considering that they lived on the other side of town,it was really no big deal and even kind of expected.

"What no kite this time? I was expecting you to try out one of your little stunts." Violet mockingly brought up the fact that Charlie Brown didn't have a kite in his hand this time as the boy rolled his eyes and calmly explained himself "Well the last time I tried to fly a kite in winter,I got stuck to the kite eating tree." before Sally suddenly joined in the conversation while she walked outside the house with her snow gear "Yeah and we had to call the fire department to get you down big brother."

"I really didn't need to be reminded of that Sally." Charlie Brown groaned and retorted with a shudder as Snoopy came skipping on out through the front door with a bright red scarf and joined them along with Amy and Woodstock on his head,who both wore tiny little red scarfs of their own to which Linus sighed and remarked "Well I guess that's almost everyone. All we're missing are-"

"Woah!" The voice of Peppermint Patty suddenly interrupted in a joyful panic before she,Franklin,Marcie and Rebecca came sliding by on their sleds and used their feet to come to a screeching halt,which ultimately resulted in them covering everyone else in a body armor of snow due to where they were as the tomboy laughed and cheerfully greeted them while she got off her sled "And that's how you make an entrance with style. Morning everyone!"

"Good morning you three,we were wondering when you were gonna show up." Charlie Brown nonchalantly greeted the three of them back as he and the others shook the snow off their bodies before Lucy asked with a hint of annoyance in her voice "Did y'all have to show off like that? I don't think even Snoopy would go to that extreme." to which the dog got an evil smile on his face and thought to himself while he shook the snow off him_"Oh really? Is that a challenge then?" _

"Sorry about that everyone. It was just faster to get here this way,and also a lot more fun." Rebecca chuckled and apologized for making a mess of snow on everyone as Marcie calmly added with a surprising hint of cynicism "And also a way for us to save money from having to take the bus." before Freida merely brushed the mess aside and replied "Hey it's no big deal,the whole state's practically covered in snow. A little snow on us ain't hurt no one."

"I could say the same about a little bit of dust too." Pig-Pen joined in on the conversation and made a similar comment about his dust cloud as Scheroder nodded his head and added "And a little bit of music never hurt anyone either." before Sally suddenly got up next to Linus and swooned in a very affectionate tone of voice "And a little love never hurt anyone too." to which the boy gagged,got bright red in the face and covered himself up with his blanket.

"So are we just listing random things that we all find harmless now?" Franklin asked out of a slight hint of confusion that everyone was just suddenly justifying common,everyday things as Shermy added equally as confused "Yeah I really don't see the point of doing that unless you're trying to hammer something in." before Charlie Brown rolled his eyes and suggested to the group "Alright everyone,it's a nice clear morning,it's only 8:00,so let's get out there and have some fun!" to which everyone cheered in excitement and they ran towards the frozen pond,which was already packed to the brim with other kids in the neighborhood.

Charlie Brown and Rebecca however merely decided to take it slow and just walk over to the pond as the boy asked out of curiosity "So,you think you've finally gotten used to it all yet? It has been 5 months since you moved here." to which the girl sighed and retorted "I'm getting a little better,I still have to keep reminding myself that I'm living here now whenever I wake up in the morning. It's so bizarre." before Charlie Brown grew a slight look of concern on his face and timidly asked "You know you can always go to Lucy if you need someone to talk to about it. Yeah she's not the best when it comes to giving advice,but sometimes she can really knock it out of the park."

"Maybe one day I'll give it a try. I just don't think I need to rush the settling down process,but I sure would like it to move on already." Rebecca shrugged her arms and calmly retorted as Charlie Brown got a little bit of a smile and tried to lighten up her mood "Well,I just hope your first Christmas here will be worthwhile,as well as your birthday coming up." to which Rebecca suddenly raised an eyebrow and asked out of curiosity "You know speaking of which,are you planning any big surprises? Because if you are,you can just tell me."

It was then and there that Charlie Brown started to feel his stomach churn and his forehead start to slightly sweat because he was indeed planning a surprise party for Rebecca at his house,and he certainty didn't want her to know about as he nervously gulped and made up a lie "What? No I'm not. No surprises from me." However Rebecca was still a little suspicious that he might have been planning something but she merely decided to go along with he tlie and stated with a convincing smile "Alright then,keep your secrets."

"Did you just take that like from Frodo?" Charlie Brown softly gasped and asked out of shock when he could have sworn that she just quoted Frodo from Lord Of The Rings as Rebecca merely placed her hands behind her head and retorted "Maybe I did,maybe I didn't." before Charlie Brown sighed and stated "You know,the more I talk to you,the more glad I am that you came here. Come on let's get to that pond." to which Rebecca happily nodded her head and obliged "You said it. It's about time I test out this sled on some ice."

_There's nothing complicated about the way we live. _

_We're all here for each other,happy to give. _

_Proud of who we are,humble beneath the stars. _

_We have everything we need,the moon,the sun. _

_There is more than enough here,for everyone. _

_All we have we share,and all of us we care. So come on._

Soon Rebecca and Charlie Brown had finally made it to the top of the hill where the crowded frozen pond was waiting down below as they both quickly ran down and joined their freinds down below.

_Welcome to our family time._

_ Welcome to our brotherly time. _

_We're happy,givin' and takin' to the friends we're makin',there's nothing we won't do. _

_Welcome to our family time. _

_Welcome to our happy to be time. _

_This is our festival you know and best of all,we're here to share it all. _

_There's a bond between us nobody can explain._

_ It's a celebration of life,and seeing friends again. _

_I'd be there for you,I know you'd be there for me too. So come on._

_Welcome to our family time. _

_Welcome to our brotherly time. _

_This is our festival you know and best of all,we're here to share it all. _

_Remember you're loved ones departed,someone deep in your heart._

_Finding love,planning a future,telling stories and laughing with friends,precious moments you'll never forget._

However it was then and there that Charlie Brown suddenly got a special idea in mind for him and Rebecca in particular as he asked Linus for him to borrow his blanket,and he ended up tossing it above on one of the kite eating tree's branches and took him and Rebecca up it like a rope. It turned out that the morning sunlight was causing all of the broken and chewed up kites to glow brightly like crystals,and both of them were left in absolute awe at the sight while Charlie Brown continued to hold the end of the blanket and Rebecca's hand.

_This has to be the most beautiful,the most peaceful place,I've ever been to,it's nothing like I've ever seen before. _

_When I think how far I've come I can't believe it,and yet I see it,and then I see family,I see the way we used to be. Come on._

Suddenly Charlie Brown's and Rebecca's moment would be quickly cut off when they felt a tight tug come from the other end of the blanket,and it was actually due to Snoopy grabbing it with his teeth as he dragged the two of them out of the tree and soon everyone else in the gang across the pond while he ran on all fours.

_Welcome to our family time. _

_Welcome to our brotherly time. _

_We're happy,givin' and takin' to the friends we're makin',there's nothing we won't do. _

_Welcome to our family time. _

_Welcome to our happy to be time. _

_This is our festival you know and best of all,we're here to share it,we're here to share it all! _

"**Whatever Roads At Your Feet." Copyright Of Dreamworks Pictures.**

"**Welcome Phil Collins Version." Copyright Of Walt Disney Records. **


	4. Chapter 4: Trouble In Paradise

Chapter 4: Trouble In Paradise

As the first day of the kids' winter vacation went on and on,they all continued to have themselves some fun out in the snow such as them continuing to skate on the frozen pond,they brought out some ice blocks from their freezers and made ice sculptures with them outside,and they even had some snowball fights and hockey games between the boys and girls,and yes the final score was a tie between the two teams. Eventually however they decided that they needed a little bit of a break as they all decided to head over to the local mall for lunch,it was now around 11:30 in the morning and the sky had now morphed away from the bright yellow void into a mostly clear blue sky with the occasional puffy cloud here and there while little bits of snow continued to slowly fall down.

"Man I am starving. I could really go for a good burger right now." Peppermint Patty stretched out her arms and remarked in a slightly exhausted tone of voice before Marcie added in a much calmer sounding tone "I think I could use a nap after that last hockey game sir. I just hope it won't result in an exhaustion coma."

"Oh believe me I was on the verge of falling into one when I had to do my War And Peace Book report." Charlie Brown chuckled and joked as he remembered how he nearly passed out after finishing his book report on War And Peace as Linus playfully retorted while he sucked on his thumb with his blanket "Well let's hope we can make it to the mall before anything of the sort could happen."

"Well something tells me Snoopy's close to falling victim to one." Rebecca stated out of a sense of irony when she noticed that Snoopy had decided to lay on the top of her head while Amy,Jasper and Woodstock lay down on top of his belly before Scheroder joined in on the conversation while they made their way away from the frozen pond "You know speaking of the mall,I'm gonna see if they got any classical piano records there,sometimes it's nice to have someone else play music throughout the house for once."

"I think I'm gonna get a new pump for my football." Lucy added and stated what she was gonna get during their trip to the mall before Linus rolled his eyes and politely retorted "Well I'm just focusing on getting myself a good meal first. I don't need to be wringing myself out of money before Christmas." to which Charlie Brown quietly whispered to the boy in agreement "You said it Linus,I need to be saving my money for Rebecca's birthday party."

"Well it's good that you're as devoted to it as you say you are Charlie Brown. Speaking of which,has she found out about it yet?" Linus grew a little bit of a smile and happily complimented Charlie Brown for being as devoted to Rebecca's surprise party as he was while the boy nervously sighed and replied "So far no,but I think she's starting to get suspicious-"

"What are you boys talking about?" Rebecca suddenly butted in on the conversation and got in between the toy boys as Charlie Brown got bright red in the face and nervously stammered "N-nothing R-Rebecca. What's there to talk about heh-heh?" before he subtly winked at Linus signifying that he wanted him to play along to which the boy reluctantly obliged with a nervous grin of his own "Yeah it was nothing Rebecca. Nothing worth getting curious over."

Rebecca on the other hand was still just as suspicious about Charlie Brown supposedly having no surprises planned what so over,but like before she merely decided to humor him and played along with the blatant lie as she patted Charlie Brown on the shoulder and stated in a motherly tone of voice "Alright boys,I'll leave you two alone." before Charlie Brown gave a sigh of relief and whispered back to Linus "I cant ruin the surprise for her. That would go against the point of a surprise party."

"Well just make sure it doesn't get to the point where she can't trust you anymore. There's nothing worse than a friend that feels like they don't know you anymore." Linus sighed and bid Charlie Brown a cautious warning about not taking the lying too far as the round headed boy confidently reassured Linus that he wouldn't take it too far "Oh believe me I know a thing or two about that." He was clearly referring to the time when he uncharacteristically snapped at his friends when they tried to bring him home to Sparkyville after they treated him so horribly after losing them yet another baseball game,and as a result of this it was like they didn't even know him anymore.

* * *

However as they continued to head away from the frozen pond and the general play area of snow and ice,they would all be suddenly brought to a screeching halt when they heard what sounded like a young boy around their age screaming in a panic to the right of them as Freida asked out of confusion while Snoopy got down from Rebecca's head and raised his right ear up to listen "Hey,what in the world is that?" before Shermy guessed equally as startled "It sounds like someone when they have to get their flu shot at the doctor's office. Should we help him out?"

"Well I suggest we high tail it out of here already. My ears are already killing me!" Violet fiercely suggested out of annoyance as she tried to cover her ears with her mitten covered hands before they all suddenly hear a familiar voice call out to them in a panic "MAKE WAY! MAKE WAY!" to which they all turned their heads to the right to see none other than Ed frantically running down the hill that led down to the area where the pond was and coming straight towards them,for he was actually being chased by a giant snowball that had somehow been formed.

"ED!" The kids gasped and greeted the boy out of a mixture of shock and surprise as the boy came dashing right past them and yelled "Hey everyone! Bye everyone! Run!" to which the kids turned their heads to the right again to see that the giant snowball was also coming straight towards them as well and threatening to devour them as they all yelled in fear "OH GOOD GRIEF!" before they ran after Ed and away from the snowball.

"It's nice of you to show up here Ed!" Charlie Brown fearfully greeted the hermit once they had managed to catch up with him as Lucy gasped and fiercely disagreed "Not now it isn't! He brought this giant snowball with him!" before Ed scoffed and retorted "Hey this isn't my fault,I was just walking up and down the hills when suddenly this big boof came after me!" to which Sally angrily groaned "Oh sure blame everyone but yourself!"

"I just got here,what'd I do to deserve this?!" Ed gasped and asked out of shock that he was already being lamented and scolded but before anyone could even answer,the snowball seemed to have finally caught up to them and effectively buried each and every one of them in at least 5 feet of white,fluffy snow under the kite eating tree.

"Ow." Ed groaned and nonchalantly stated in pain as he climbed out the huge pile of snow before he screamed at the top of his lungs in frustration "I HATE WINTER!" only for his screaming to be loud enough to cause all the snow on the kite eating tree to fall right on top of them and make the pile of snow even bigger,and also revealing the leafless branches of the tree. Everyone's muffled gargling and struggling to get out of the snow could be heard for at least 10 seconds before they all managed to finally get out as they burst right through the top layer and tried to catch their breath.

"Hi there mates." Ed once again greeted the gang although in a much more calm and relieved tone of voice as he tried to catch his breath before Freida looked up at her hair and somberly whimpered "I take back what I said about the snow,my hair is a mess now." to which the boy raised an eyebrow and retorted "It don't look that bad,my hair's a mess all the time."

"I think you and Pig-Pen should be roommates with how much you two make messes." Violet angrily stated as she stomped on out of the snow and leaned on the side of the kite eating tree before Pig-Pen crawled out of the dirt stained snow and added in agreement "She's right,me and you should hang out sometime."

Charlie Brown on the other hand was more focused on the fact that Ed had suddenly showed up in town rather than flattened them all with a giant snowball as he brushed that little episode aside and asked out of curiosity while he cleaned some snow off his hat "So Ed,what exactly are you doing here? Granted I was expecting you to show up in some capacity but I thought you'd mainly be spending the holidays with Herman and the rest of your crew?" to which the hermit punched the right side of his head and got some snow out of his ear before he enthusiastically explained himself "Well I decided to cut Herman and the crew a break and let them go on vacation for the holidays,I think they said they were gonna go to Africa. So with nothing better for me to do,I just decided to come and spend the holidays with y'all. I still have no idea where that snowball came from when I got here though."

"Well Ed it's at least nice to know that you're gonna rough it out with us. I've always wanted to see how a hermit such as yourself celebrates the holidays." Peppermint Patty cheerfully remarked as she happily shook Ed's hand before Marcie calmly added while she cleaned some of the snow off her glasses "You know Ed if you need somewhere to stay,perhaps you could go to the homeless shelter in the city. I'm sure they'd be willing to take you in for a while." only for Ed to shake his head and politely refuse the offer "Nah I'm good Marcie,as much as I hate the winter weather,I'm far too used to the outdoors to suddenly try and fit in at a place like that. Don't worry about me,I'll make due with something in the woods."

However that swift little remark of Ed's and how he would prefer to just stay in the woods instead of going to the homeless shelter would suddenly give Rebecca a splendid idea as her eyes widened and she quietly whispered to herself in excitement "Make due with something in the woods? That's it!" before Ed suddenly noticed how excited and giddy Rebecca looked in his peripheral vision and asked "Hey Rebecca,what's up with you? You look like you just found out you're going to Disneyland."

Instantly the girl's excited and ecstatic demeanor quickly regressed into one of nervousness as she timidly stammered in an attempt to keep her sudden new idea a secret unaware that she was acting just like how Charlie Brown was a little while ago "I-it's nothing Ed. I'm just really excited that you're here,that's all." before Linus nodded his head and cheerfully added in agreement "Same here Rebecca,it's really nice to have you here this holiday season Ed." to which a still woozy Snoopy gave a thumbs up.

* * *

However it was then and there that everyone's conversation and reunion with Ed would be suddenly and swiftly interrupted when they heard the voice of a kid with a British sounding accent call out to them from the top of the hill "Excuse me,ladies and gentlemen,may I have your attention please for a brief moment?" to which the kids including the animals looked to the upper right to see a young boy around their age with a black borehat on the top of his head,a grey and black waistcoat around him,a small black and white cane being held in his right hand,a circular eyepiece of glass over his left eye,and a pair of very fancy boots waving down at them.

Everyone was left slightly confused at the sight of this mysterious stranger,not just because of the fact that they had never seen this kid before,but also because he looked a lot more sophisticated and fancy than any other kid they had seen in town as they all raised an eyebrow and looked at each other in confusion before the boy politely called out to them once again "Yes you lot down there. Come up here please I must speak with you."

"Who's asking?" Charlie Brown asked for the boy's name out of curiosity and cautiousness as Lucy added equally as cautious "Yeah tell us who you are first and maybe we'll come up,you look really suspicious with those clothes of yours buddy." only for the boy to merely insist that they come on up and talk to him anyway while he pulled out and looked at a pocket watch "Please,please,please,I must speak with you all urgently and I have no time to daddle." to which Charlie Brown sighed and reluctantly made his way up the hill with the intent to talk to this mysterious stranger,with the others following shortly afterwards.

"Ah thank you fellas,I was worried I'd have to come down there and get my winter boots dirty." The boy faintly laughed and joked when everyone had finally made it to the top of the hill by the street before Sally asked out of curiosity "So who are you mister? I've never seen you before." while Franklin joked and subtly insulted the boy's fashion choices "Yeah one look at you and we'd remember you for life."

"Well since you all asked nicely,I go by the name of a Mister James R Waul." The boy chuckled and politely obliged to introduce himself as he gracefully bowed down and gave Charlie Brown a business card with his name on it before James rose back up and continued "If you're wondering about my accent here,it's because my parents are British and they moved here years ago. I've never been to my home country but,life in America has its benefits if I say so myself."

"Well this is the first time I've ever met a true Brit. Pleasure to meet you James,the name's Ed." Ed happily decided to introduce himself to the Brit as he walked to the front of the group and offered him a handshake,only for James to recoil in disgust due to his general appearance and politely declined one "Ah no thank you Ed. It's a pleasure to meet you too. But anyway who can be considered the leader of this group?"

"That would be me James! Lucy Van Pelt!" Lucy smugly replied in an instant as she shoved her way past the others and got right up at the front of the group which resulted in the others rolling their eyes in disbelief and James jumping back in shock before he regained his posture and calmly replied "Well then Mrs Van Pelt,I have certain matters to discuss with y'all. You see my father runs the bank of Sparkyville and-"

"The bank? That's all the way downtown,mom sometimes takes Rerun there to get her checks." Linus suddenly interrupted James's explanation of who he was in slight confusion while Peppermint Patty added equally as confused "Yeah downtown is pretty far away from here,what's a city boy like you doing all the way in the suburbs?" to which James sighed and continued where he left off "It's because I have urgent matters to discuss with you lot,and since my father is doing the honor of bidding your parents the news,it only fits that I tell you kids the news." before he pointed behind him to show a much taller man wearing the same clothes as he was talking to some people at the front door of one of their houses.

"News? What kind of news are we talking about." Rebecca raised an eyebrow and nervously asked for clarification on what James was talking about as the boy grew a slight look of regret on his face and somberly replied "Well unfortunately it ain't pretty my friends. You see the bank has recently been going through some…...trouble to put it lightly. We have recently been losing the funds necessary to provide for our shareholders,our investors and of course our own workers,and as a result of this we need to increase the debt and payment your parents owe us for living here." to which everyone's eyes widened and they gasped out of shock "WHAT?!"

"Hey that's not fair! How come you have to come to us to get your money?" Peppermint Patty angrily asked out of bewilderment as she furiously balled her fists up while James nervously stammered in an attempt to defend himself "Well uh y-you see,a lot of people recently have been leaving town to spend the holidays with family and relatives across the country,and they are selling off their houses for rent while they're gone. But as a result of this,the money for the rent and the house goes to them instead of us for the time being. We simply have no choice in this situation but to increase y'all's debt for the month,and unfortunately if you are unable to pay up by midnight on Christmas Eve,we will have no choice but to take repossession of your homes."

Everyone was left in complete and utter silence after hearing what James had to say,there was no way that this could be real,if their parents couldn't pay off their debt for the month then they would all lose their homes,and on Christmas to make things even worse. After a few more moments of them standing in silence and taking it all in,Ed suddenly grew a huge look of anger and frustration as he stomped towards James and sternly asked "What did you just say mister? I don't think we heard that right." before Lucy added just as angry and fierce "Yeah cause it sounds like you're about to kick us out of our homes during the holidays. Is that what you said?"

James was now starting to feel a great amount of fear and nervousness overwhelm him all at once as he timidly tried to defend himself "Yes but,you all got a little over two weeks to get us the money we need,surely you can find some way to pay up during that time." before he suddenly noticed Snoopy standing behind Charlie Brown with Amy,Woodstock and Jasper,and that seemed to have given James an idea as he walked up to the animals and suggested "I mean,you got yourself that purebred beagle over there,perhaps you could sell him off to someone else and that'd be a perfectly good and nice start-"

"You stop right there mister!" Charlie Brown suddenly snapped and fiercely refused to sell off Snoopy to someone else as everyone else gasped in shock that he would snap like that before he sternly continued "That dog of mine is family here,I am not selling a family member!" to which James nervously backed away and tried to calm him down "H-hold a second pal-"

"Yeah that is low of you mister! You can't just sell a friend like that!" Linus suddenly interrupted James yet again as the others started to angrily walk towards the cowering boy before Ed fiercely added while Snoopy started growling and showing off his teeth at the Brit "You know maybe you could sell those stupid clothes of yours first buddy! Maybe that would get you some worthwhile money!"

"Hold your horses everyone!" James once again tried to get everyone to calm down only for Linus to suddenly start swatting at him with his blanket like a whip as he shouted "Back! Back! Shoo! Shoo!" before James finally caved in and sprinted off to his dad's black car in a panic and frantically yelled while he jumped in through the open window and quickly drove off "I was just trying to help you!" However it seemed that the kids weren't exactly through with all their threats yet as Lucy suddenly pointed at the car and commanded Snoopy in the tone of voice a military general would use "Go get him Snoopy!" to which the beagle got on all fours,ran after after James and started barking up a storm while the boy nervously yelled from the passenger seat window "Call off your dog!" to which all of the kids angrily bid him farewell one last time "And stay out!"

* * *

Soon afterwards Snoopy came running back to the group on all fours as the others proudly cheered in his honor for chasing off James while Charlie Brown gave him a hug and happily reassured him "I wouldn't sell you for a thing in the world buddy." before the beagle awed and licked him on the cheek. However once everyone managed to calm themselves down,the fact that there was a high possibility that they wouldn't have their homes anymore during Christmas started to linger over them as Sally timiddly asked "What are we gonna do everyone?" before Charlie Brown sighed and regretfully replied unsure himself "I don't know Sally,I don't know."

"I can't believe this,here we were having ourselves a nice winter vacation and then these jokers show up to practically try and kick us out of our houses." Peppermint Patty angrily remarked as she picked up a nearby rock and threw it down the hill before Linus rolled his eyes and tried to look on the bright side of things "Well,at least we do have two weeks to try and figure something out,cause I doubt our parents can pay off the debt by themselves. They already have to spend so much just for Christmas,and now they got this debt to take care of."

Lucy on the other hand was skeptical to think that they could get the money required to pay off the debt as she scoffed and asked in bewilderment "But what exactly can we do? Where are we gonna find the money to pay off the debt at this time of year and in only two weeks?" before Linus regretfully replied "I don't know how we'll get it Lucy but,come on we have to at least try to have faith that something will show up." while Rebecca somberly whimpered "It hasn't even been a year yet and I'm already about to get kicked out of my home. It's that summer all over again."

"Hey don't say that!" Charlie Brown softly gasped and tried to calm Rebecca down before he continued in a much more uplifted tone of voice "I mean Linus is right,we do have two weeks to pay up,so we can easily find some way to make some money." only for that optimism to be quickly washed away when a sudden burst of cold wind came brushing by and made everyone shiver.

"It looks like it's about to get real cold out. Maybe we should save the mall for another day." Marcie calmly stated and suggested that they go on ahead and head back home while she put on the hood on her jacket before Pig-Pen added in agreement when he saw some particles from his dust cloud start to freeze up and drop to the ground like ice cubes "You said it Marcie,my dust cloud's starting to freeze up." to which he,Violet,Patty,Scheroder,Shermy,Lucy,Linus and Freida started to make their way back home.

"Y-you guys wanna come over for a while? We can get a fire going." Charlie Brown meekly stammered and offered the others a chance to come over to his house for a while as Marcie smiled and happily took him up on it "That would be very nice,that's very thoughtful of you Charles." only for Ed to shake his head and politely decline "No thank you fellers,I can get my own fire going out here. I'll be down in Monte Woods if you need me." before he quickly ran off to the woods.

"Come on let's get inside before we become ice statues." Sally firmly suggested that they go on inside before Rebecca politely declined the offer as well "I'm good but thanks for the offer Charlie Brown. I'm gonna head back to my place." Charlie Brown was a little confused by the fact that Rebecca hadn't taken him up on his offer,but he didn't really feel the need to question it as he merely smiled and replied "Oh,okay. You better be careful out here,it's getting real chilly." to which Rebecca nodded her head and reassured him while she begun to walk back to her place "Don't worry I will." before the others headed over to Charlie Brown's place.

* * *

As Rebecca continued to slowly but surely walk down the freezing up sidewalk,she began to have more and more thoughts about how they could all possibly lose their homes enter her mind as she somberly said to herself "I can't believe this,it hasn't even been a year yet and I'm already about to be kicked out of my home. Why can't I catch a break!" before she suddenly slipped on a puddle of frozen water and landed right on her back with a loud thud. Rebecca on the other hand didn't seem to show any signs of pain or anguish on her face as she merely looked up at the increasingly getting cloudy sky and meekly asked herself as little bits of snow continued to slowly fall from the sky "What am I gonna do? Where will I go? Will we all move to different places? Will I see any of them again? before she slowly rose up and continued her track back home.

_**Rebecca: **__The earth is cold,the fields are bare,the branches fall against the wind that's everywhere. The birds move on so they survive,when snow's so deep,the bears all sleep to keep themselves alive. _

_They do what they must for now and trust in their plan,if I trust in mine somehow I might find who I am. _

_But where do I go from here? So many voices ringing in my ear. Which is the voice that I was meant to hear,how will I know,where do I go from here?_

_My world has changed and so have I,I've learned to choose and even learned to say goodbye. The path ahead's so hard to see,it winds and bends,but where it ends depends on only me. _

_In my heart I don't feel part of so much I've known,now it seems it's time to start a new life on my own! _

_But where do I go from here?! So many voices ringing in my ear. Which is the voice that I was meant to hear,how will I know,where do I go…...from here?_

"**Where Do I Go From Here?" Copyright Of Walt Disney Records.**


	5. Chapter 5: Late Night Anxiety

Chapter 5: Late Night Anxiety

The rest of the day was not very pleasant for any of the kids now that they had known their houses and livelihoods were on the chopping block,if they couldn't find some way to possibly pay all their increased debt by midnight on Christmas,the bank would take back repossession of their houses and effectively leave them all without a home. Granted they could likely go to the homeless shelter if the worst was ever to happen,but it still wasn't an option they wanted to even think about,especially at this time of year. OAlthough Charlie Brown and Linus were definitely more optimistic and hopeful about the situation than the others,overtime the feeling of anxiety and dread only begun to intensify the rest of the day the more and more they thought about it,and it effectively resulted in them feeling no different than the others.

It was now around 9:30 at night and most of Sparkyville was already sound asleep while the snow was softly and gently falling down as the full moon hung over the land like a giant beacon of light. Charlie Brown however was having some trouble getting himself off to bed since even though he had already put on his pajamas and sleeping cap,he unfortunately couldn't get the thought of possibly losing everything out of his mind as he merely lay in his bed and stared up at the ceiling for who knows how long. Charlie Brown could feel his eyes getting heavier and heavier by the minute and he could feel his body telling his brain that he needed to get some sleep,but no matter what happened he just couldn't find it in himself to shut his eyes for the night.

"Come on Charles,you gotta pull it together,just to to sleep." Charlie Brown sighed and timidly pleaded with himself as he continued to stare at his spinning fan up on the ceiling before he finally start to feel his eyes shut,after all this time it certainly was a relief to be held as the boy smiled to himself and quietly whispered to himself while he finally headed off to a well deserved sleep "Finally,I could use a good night's sleep."

* * *

However it would quickly be proven that a good night's sleep wouldn't help things out one little bit as Charlie Brown suddenly lifted his head up to see that he and the rest of the gang were miraculously in front of the bank of Sparkyville,the atmosphere and air felt abnormally warm and the sky was nothing but a bright crimson void. Charlie Brown immediately started to have a huge feeling of fear and shock overwhelm him all at once as he started hyperventilating and asked "What?! What's going on?! Am I...am I dreaming?" only for neither of his friends to answer him while Peppermint Patty suddenly called out "James! We've come to try and work out a deal!"

"Huh?" Charlie Brown softly gasped in confusion as he looked up ahead to see none other than the son of the runner of the bank himself,James,wearing a twisted and psychotic smile on his face while he asked in a maniacal tone of voice "So,I take it you all have our money then? You only have 1 minute left on the clock." before a loud and deafening chime of a bell could be heard that made Charlie Brown and the others' ears writhe in pain.

"Ahhhhh! What's…...going….. on!" Charlie Brown once again tried to ask what in the world was going on here as he and the others covered their ears due to the searing pain they felt while they slowly lifted their heads up to see that there was a giant clock tower akin to that of Big Ben in London shining down a bright yellow light on them from the top of the bank,and it seemed that the hour hand was on the number twelve and the minute hand was just about to hit it.

"James please we need more time!" Linus frantically pleaded that James and the bank give them more time only for him to be swiftly interrupted when the minute hand finally joined with the hour one which caused the ground to shake violently due to the power of the bell chime while James mockingly and psychotically laughed "Oh no! It seems that you are all out of precious time! You couldn't pay up with your money,so now you must pay with something else!" before the ground suddenly split open in an instant and a raging inferno of fire burst right out of it.

Immediately the gang started to panic as they all tried to run away from the apocalyptic level earthquake,but Charlie Brown would suddenly be halted dead in his tracks when heard the voice of Rebecca scream out in terror from behind "Ahhhhh! Help!" to which the boy quickly turned his head around to see that Rebecca and Snoopy were both hanging off the edge of the cliff and it looked like it was gonna collapse and take them down in any minute. "Rebecca! Snoopy!" Charlie Brown frantically yelled in a panic while he ran towards his two friends and tried to help them up,only for the edge of the ground to suddenly explode and collapse into tiny pieces,taking down Rebecca and Snoopy into the pit down below as the two of them screamed in terror while Charlie Brown's eyes widened and begun to fill with tears as he looked down into the fiery pit and cried out "NOOOOOOOOO!"

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" The evil,twisted and most of all horrifying laughter of James seemed to ring in Charlie Brown's head as the boy lifted himself up to see the banker chortling at the other side of the cliff before Linus suddenly grabbed him by the arm and yelled "Come on Charlie Brown we gotta go!"

"But…..but-" Charlie Brown meekly tried to explain what had happened to Rebecca and Snoopy only for the splitting and parting away of the ground to interrupt him and his whimpering as Linus sternly suggested "Come on let's go!" to which Charlie Brown mustered up all of his inner strength and followed Linus down the streets of his neighborhood while the former yelled "Come on we gotta get somewhere safe!" All the while time seemed to slow down and all sounds seemed to vanish all at once for Charlie Brown as he continued to follow his friend throughout the chaos.

_I pray you'll be our eyes,and watch us where we go. _

_And help us to be wise,help us to let go,every person's prayer,every child knows. _

_Lead us to a place,guide us to a place,to a place we're we'll be safe._

Charlie Brown and Linus continued to run through the neighborhood and they finally managed to catch up to the others,but any sense of relief they had would be washed away when they saw that the destruction was causing them all to be separated.

_I pray we find your light,and hold it in our hearts._

_ As darkness falls each night,remind us where you are,every person's prayer,every child knows. _

_Need to find a place,guide us to a place,give us faith so we'll be safe. _

_Lead us to a place,guide us to a place,to a place we're we'll be safe._

* * *

It was then and there that Charlie Brown suddenly screamed and shot wide awake in his bed,it was all a dream despite how real and terrifying it felt. The boy was covered from top to bottom in sweat and he felt abnormally hot as he jumped straight out of his bed and looked out his bedside window to see that the neighborhood was completely fine. He still saw that the snow was gracefully falling down from the sky and he could still see Snoopy sleeping on the top of his doghouse with a green night cap on.

"It…..it was a dream." Charlie Brown gave off a huge sigh of relief and meekly whispered to himself as his frantically beating heart slowed down to a more normal pace before he suddenly heard someone knocking at his front door to which he raised an eyebrow and looked over at his clock to see that it was 11:30 PM. Who on Earth could possibly be wanting to see him or Sally at this time of night? However Charlie Brown felt it was best to be polite and respectful as he reluctantly headed out of his bedroom and slowly opened the front door of his house to be met with a bit of a surprise,it was actually Rebecca standing at the door in her snow gear as she timidly greeted her friend "Hey Charlie Brown."

"Rebecca? What are you doing here at this time of night?" Charlie Brown yawned and politely asked his friend about what she was doing here as the girl nervously twiddled around with her fingers and explained herself "I can't sleep,I've been thinking too much about the…...you know." before Charlie Brown lightly chuckled and retorted "Well I can actually say the same to you,I just woke up from a very bad nightmare about it. You wanna come in?"

"Sure,thank you. There's actually something else I wanted to talk to you about." Rebecca smiled and gratefully thanked Charlie Brown for letting her come in as the boy raised an eyebrow and obliged with a slight hint of confusion "Uh,sure thing Rebecca. You can come in my room." to which the both of them headed on inside.

* * *

"So…..what did you need to talk about?" Charlie Brown nervously gulped and asked out of curiosity as he and Rebecca looked out his bedside window and out at the snow in his backyard before the girl leaned her head on the window and explained herself "It's about Ed." to which Charlie Brown's eyes widened a little and he replied "Ed? What about him?"

Afterwards Rebecca lifted her head off and away from the window and deeply sighed before she stated "I really like Ed,and it's in a….like him,like him way. When y'all first came out to get me out of the orphanage,when he came back to rescue me with Herman and the other animals,and even when I was writing to him while he went away sometime after the carnival…...it all caused me to fall for him. And the thing is,after hearing that he's staying out in the middle of Monte Woods all by himself in the cold,it just made me wanna do something special for him. I wanna build him a little house in the woods around here,you know so he has some place to stay in while he's out here? Cause surely he could use a nice place to stay in for the time being,he's such a nice and sweet boy that…...he honestly deserves one."

_**Rebecca: **__There's a place called home,I can almost see,with a red front door and roaring fire and a Christmas tree. It's a place called home,that he still can travel to._

_**Charlie Brown: **__It's the place in your heart,where he'll still come home to you._

"Rebecca,that's very sweet and thoughtful of you. You didn't need to come all the way here for my general approval though." Charlie Brown happily complimented Rebecca and her idea for a gift for Ed before Rebecca suddenly gave him a hug and cheerfully whispered into his ear "Thank you for listening Charlie Brown." to which the boy joined in and merely brushed it aside "Hey it's really nothing Rebecca,but why don't you head on home? It's pretty late."

As Rebecca slowly walked down the moonlit streets of Sparkyville,she looked up at the starry night sky and saw an oddly bright and twinkling star in comparison to the others and placed her hand on her heart.

_**Rebecca: **__Just a place in my heart,I can still come home to you._

* * *

Meanwhile back in Charlie Brown's bedroom,he was continuing to look out of his bedside window and up at the stars,and he was actually pretty quick to also notice the bright and twinkling star that Rebecca had noticed on her way home as he smiled at the sight of it and decided to try and go back to sleep. However as he slowly turned his head around and took a look at his bed,he would suddenly be startled and confused when he saw Snoopy sleeping on the top of his blanket as he softly gasped and asked out of confusion "Snoopy,when did you get in here? And why aren't you sleeping out-" but suddenly stopped his rambling when he saw that the dog was faintly yet noticeably shivering.

"Oh,it's due to the cold. I guess even furry animals like you can get cold sometimes,alright you can sleep in here tonight." Charlie Brown sighed and lovingly obliged to let his dog sleep in his room for the night as he got under the covers and made room for the beagle so he could sleep right next to him and stay warm for the night.

However just before the two of them finally headed off to sleep for the night,Charlie Brown looked up at the ceiling and quietly remarked with a smile "You know Snoopy,I don't know what happened,but now I feel like everything's gonna be okay for us in the end. I just got this feeling now that we will still have our homes on Christmas Day and this will all be put behind us,I don't know how…...but maybe it's best that I don't for now." before he yawned and headed off to a deep and much more relaxing sleep,all the while the bright and twinkling star up in the night sky continued to shine down on the neighborhood like a heavenly beacon.

_May it be an evening star shines down upon you. _

_May it be when darkness comes your heart will be true. _

_You walk a lonely road,oh how far you are from home._

_Mornie utulie,believe and you will find your way. _

_Mornie alantie,a promise lives within you now._

_May it be the shadow's call will fly away. _

_May it be you journey on to light the day. _

_When the night is overcome,you may rise to find the sun._

_Mornie utulie,believe and you will find your way. _

_Mornie alantie,a promise lives within you now._

_A promise lives within you now._

* * *

_"Mornie utulie." _= _"Darkness has come."_

_"Mornie alantie." _= _"Darkness has fallen." _

"**The Prayer. Quest For Camelot Version." Copyright Of Atlantic Records.**

"**A Place Called Home(Scrooge At 10.)" Copyright Of JAY Productions.**

'**May It Be." Copyright Of Warner Music Group**


	6. Chapter 6: A Queen's Strict Policy

Chapter 6: A Queen's Strict Policy

The next day had shortly but swiftly arrived after a long and cold winter night,everyone had tried to get themselves a good night's sleep but the everly increasing thoughts of them possibly losing their homes had managed to creep inside their minds at least once,luckily Charlie Brown was spared from having any more of those thoughts bother him and he was able to sleep just fine. It was around 10:00 in the morning the very next day and Linus,Lucy,Peppermint Patty,Rebecca,Charlie Brown,Ed and Snoopy were at the frozen pond once again,and despite them bringing their skating gear along with them and it not being nearly as crowded and packed as it was yesterday,they actually didn't feel the need or desire to skate on the ice and merely sat on some moveable tree stumps on the ice,while Snoopy merely lay down in Ed's lap.

"Boy I sure didn't sleep very well last night. What about the rest of y'all?" Linus sighed and somberly remarked with a tired yawn as Charlie Brown leaned down on his knee and calmly replied "I was fine for the most part Linus,after I had a horrible nightmare about the debt though." before Ed threw a runaway hockey puck that some of the kids were using to play hockey back on the ice and sarcastically added "Well I on the other hand slept fine enough,aside from the fact I had to sleep in a log and felt like I was about to contract frost bite,but hey no biggie."

Hearing how horrible of a sleeping experience Ed had for the night made Rebecca feel a little uneasy and honestly quite sorry for the boy as she rolled her eyes and politely asked "Ed are you sure you don't want to just stay at the homeless shelter or even at one of our places? I know you aren't used to this kind of living experience but…...I just think that you could use a better place to stay at in this kind of weather." only for Ed to shake his head and respectfully decline the suggestion yet again "Nope. I appreciate the concern Rebecca,but I've dealt with far worse than a little chill." to which the girl sighed and meekly respected his decision "O….okay Ed."

"You know I think we should try to live like Ed for one night,considering we're likely gonna lose our homes." Lucy scoffed and bitterly suggested that they start living like Ed as Linus instantly tried to lighten up her spirits "Oh come on Lucy don't think like that! We still got two weeks to make the money needed to pay off our debt,if all our parents pay one half of it,then we can easily pay off the other half." before Peppermint Patty nodded her head and cheerfully agreed with the boy "Yeah he's right Lucille,in fact Marcie said she'd head down to the library and see if there are any jobs for us. We just gotta pull it together and try to make an effort here."

"And if we can't make the money needed to pay off y'all's debt,we'll just force those snobs at the bank to give us more time." Ed fiercely added in agreement with Patty's plan of action as he got an evil look on his face and pounded his fists together,making everyone give him a look of complete confusion for at least five seconds before Charlie Brown cleared his throat and meekly retorted "Yeah I don't think we'll need to resort to…..that. But still Linus and Patty are right Lucy,we got plenty of time left to make the money we need,and I have a gut feeling that we'll easily get through this."

Lucy on the other hand was still very reluctant to believe that they could possibly make even a fraction of the money they needed as she scoffed and disagreed while she put on her skating shoes and started to head onto the ice "Are you all going insane? How in the world are a bunch of kids like us going to make enough money to pay off a neighborhood wide dept to the bank? I would sooner believe that the Great Pumpkin and The Easter Beagle are cousins!" to which Linus rolled his eyes and groaned "That out of season holiday joke wasn't funny,but Lucy-"

"We are gonna lose our homes and become hermits in the streets like Ed!" Lucy sternly interrupted Linus's attempt to lift up her spirits before she suddenly continued in a much more pleasant and cheerful tone of voice "But on the bright side of things,this will give me the chance to abandon the suburban everyman life and allow me to go find my true calling,becoming a beautiful and strong queen."

"Oh my gosh." Linus groaned and facepalmed in awe and bewilderment that Lucy possibly thought she could become a queen when this was all over as Patty rolled her eyes and whispered into Rebecca's ear "She's the queen alright,the queen of annoying people." before Charlie Brown tried to open his mouth and talk some sense into Lucy,only for the girl to continue to indulge in her hopeless fantasy "And my first order as Queen Lucy is to make sure that I will never have to hear bad news like this ever again!"

_**Lucy: **__Ahhh! When I wake up in the afternoon which it pleases me to do,don't nobody bring me no bad news. 'Cause I wake up already negative and I've wired up my fuse,so don't nobody bring me no bad news. _

_Now if we're gonna be buddies,you better bone up on the rules,'cause don't nobody bring me no bad news. You can be my best of friends,as opposed to payin' dues,but don't nobody bring me no bad news._

_Yeah no bad news! (No bad news!) No bad news! (No bad news!) Now don't you ever bring me no bad news! (No bad news!) 'Cause I'll make you an offer child that you cannot refuse,so don't nobody bring me no bad news._

_Now when you're talking to me,don't be cryin' blues,'cause don't nobody bring me no bad news. (No bad news!) You can verbalize,vocalize but just bring me the clues,but don't nobody bring me no bad news. _

_Bring the message in your head,or in something you can't lose,but don't you ever bring me no bad news. (No bad news!) If you're gonna bring me something,bring me something I can use,but don't you bring me no bad news._

_Yep no bad news. (No bad news!) No bad news. (No bad news!) Now don't you bring me no bad news. (No bad news!) 'Cause I'll make you an offer child that you cannot refuse,so don't you bring me no bad news! _

Lucy then started to perform some very impressive ice skating moves on the ice such as the triple axel and much,much more,all the while Linus and the others were watching in boredom and awe of her egotism while the former meekly groaned "Lucy keeps going on and on about how she'll be a queen someday,yet she always forgets that her family needs to be part of a monarchy where she can be passed down the roll." before Charlie Brown sighed and suggested "Well I wouldn't try to crush her dreams like that,I think it'd result in something terrible happening in regards to how crabby she can get."

_Now don't nobody bring me no bad news! _

_Now if you're gonna bring me something,bring me something I can use,but don't you ever bring me no bad news. (No bad news!) 'Cause I'll make you an offer child that you cannot refuse,so don't nobody bring me no bad news! I said don't nobody bring me no bad news! _

_I said don't! (Don't you bring me!) Don't you bring me! (Don't you bring me!) Don't! (Don't you bring me!) Don't you bring me! (Don't you bring me!) Okay don't! (Don't you bring me!) Don't bring me! (Don't you bring me!) I said don't! (Don't you bring me!) _

_Don't you ever bring me…...no bad news!_

"**Don't Nobody Bring Me No Bad News." Copyright Of Geffen Records**


	7. Chapter 7: The Neighborhood Manager

Chapter 7: Linus Van Pelt: The Neighborhood Manager

Like Peppermint Patty had told Lucy and the others at the frozen pond/skating ring,Marcie was over at the local library down by Birchwood Elementary school and was looking around for any possible job that she and the others could partake in so they could start making some money. Franklin and Freida had also decided to accompany her in an attempt to help her out and hopefully make the search easier as the former enthusiastically stated once they made it to the front doors "Alright,it's time for us to get serious and start looking for jobs,every little penny counts here." to which Freida sighed and ironically retorted as she looked around for any possible job flyers on the walls "I never thought that I'd be looking for a job when I'm not even in or out of High School yet. I guess this could be a nice head start to the concept."

"Well let's hope that this head start can be something close to enjoyable." Marcie sighed and nonchalantly remarked in the hopes that they'd be able to find a nice and easy job before they slowly creaked the front doors open and headed inside. Given the fact that they were now standing in the middle of a library,the whole building was of course dead silent and was filled to the brim with kids reading books and checking them out at the front desk,all the while the old woman running the desk merely smoked a small cigarette and kept her eyes glued onto the computer despite the no smoking signs being plastered everywhere.

Freida was quick to notice that the woman was clearly breaking the rules and potentially causing second hand smoking among kids that passed by her and quietly lamented her for it "Well that's not a complete disregard for the rules at all,I'm surprised she hasn't been fired yet." before Marcie shushed her and whispered as quietly as she could while she pointed to a small table by the front desk "Alright,let's head over to the job table. It's where they put copies of all the job flyers around town for people to look at while they're here,we're bound to find at least something we can do."

"I wouldn't be too sure about that Marcie,look there's barely anything on the table." Franklin sighed and regretfully retorted when he saw that there was hardly any type of flyer on the table as Marcie and Freida got a closer look at it and indeed saw only one flyer on the dusty old table to which the latter grew a look of concern and stated with worry "Oh no,will we not be able to find a job?"

Marcie on the other hand was trying to keep herself calm about the situation as she quietly stammered in response while she headed over to the table "Well,uh,we should at least take a look at what we got here. We never know what we'll find." before she picked up the only remaining flyer,dusted it off and took a look at it. As Marcie continued to look at the job flyer and see what it offered,she would strangely enough begin to show a huge look of intrigue and she even began to grow a small smile,could this possibly be a good and promising job offering?

"What does it say? Is it something good?" Freida anxiously asked out of curiosity on whether the job offering was any good to which Marcie slowly turned around with a satisfied smile on her face and happily dropped a huge bombshell "I think we've just got ourselves a job you two. Come on let's go tell the others."

* * *

Meanwhile back in their main area of the neighborhood,Charlie Brown,Lucy,Linus,Ed,Sally and Peppermint Patty were all leaning on top of the brick wall,the same old typical place where they and some of the others would gather around from time to time and let loose what was ever on their mind,and 99% of the time it was a very good place to speak out how you were feeling without any repercussions.

"I hope Marcie gets back from the library sometime soon,the sooner we can start working and making our money,the better." Charlie Brown anxiously remarked as he looked around the snowy fields around them in the hopes of seeing Marcie on her way back to town with a possible job application before Sally looked up at some of the clouds in the sky and nonchalantly asked "Do you think maybe she got herself stuck there? Like she got too caught up in some books and she can't stop reading them?"

"Hey I wouldn't put that past her,one time we went there to study for a book report and she ended up checking out 5 books instead of just the one we needed." Patty shrugged her arms and jokingly retorted before Lucy groaned out of impatience "Well she better hurry herself up or I'm gonna go over there and get her."

"Hey you guys! I've found something!" The voice of Marcie suddenly called out to the others afterwards as everyone turned their heads to the left to see Marcie,Franklin and Freida frantically running towards them,with Marcie holding none other than a paper flyer in her hand as Patty greeted her friend with relief "There you are Marcie,I was worried that you may have gotten yourself lost at the library." before Rebecca meekly asked out of curiosity "Did-did you find anything useful?" to which Freida happily confirmed that they did "You bet we did,and it was actually the only flyer they had there. How lucky we were huh?"

"Oh really? Well what is it?" Charlie Brown raised an eyebrow and politely asked with intrigue as Marcie took a look at the flyer and explained the job offering "The job offering is for something along the lines of neighborhood management,here one person will be required to sit around at their place of residence for the day and resolve people's complaints/concerns about the neighborhood." to which Linus got a huge look of intrigue and retorted "Hmm,so it's sort of like the Parks And Recreation division,except it's for the general neighborhood instead of the city parks and landmarks."

"It appears so." Marcie nodded her head and calmly agreed with the boy's guess as she handed Rebecca the flyer and allowed her to take a look at it while she continued "The flyer says the job is only for the rest of the day,apparently the last kid in charge of it is sick and they had to stay home. So why doesn't one of us go ahead and call the phone number on the flyer so we can get started?" to which Patty happily complimented her and the others for what they had done "Nice going there Marcie,you three managed to dig us out of a deep hole. So who's the lucky winner that gets to do the job?"

Unfortunately however it seemed that most of the kids were quite reluctant to volunteer for the job as most of them stayed completely silent,it wasn't like they didn't want to do any jobs to get the money they needed to get themselves out of the hole the bank dug for them,but none of them had any kind of experience in this field of work before and it made them feel rather conflicted about whether they should take the job or not.

"Come on there has to be someone who wants to do it? This money isn't gonna make itself!" Patty groaned and pleaded that someone step up and volunteer before Linus suddenly spoke up "I'll do it,if all the job requires me to do is quell typical neighborhood drama,then I think I have a better shot at it than the rest of you guys,no offense." to which Charlie Brown grew a small smile and playfully retorted as he lightly nudged Linus on the shoulder "Hey none taken Linus,honestly the more that I think about it,I actually think you're the best person for this sort of job."

"You always were sort of the voice of reason in the gang." Rebecca chuckled and also showed her support for Linus taking the job as Sally tightly hugged the boy and happily cried out "You're are hero! Your name will go down in the history books!" to which Linus rolled his eyes and respectfully replied while Sally let go "Thanks for the votes of confidence everyone,I'll do my best." before Lucy sternly retorted "I hate to say it,but I think we may actually have a chance of winning here,so you better do your best Linus."

"We're really gonna be counting on you here." Freida stated with a little bit of concern in her voice as Franklin happily nodded his head in support to which Ed suddenly perked up in excitement and enthusiastically added while he reached into his pocket "And just to make sure you don't disappoint us,here's a little something from me for good luck." before he pulled what appeared to be a gold tooth out from his pocket and handed it to Linus.

"Gee,thanks for the…..tooth Ed." Linus timidly thanked Ed for the gift of good luck in a shaky and confused tone of voice as the boy chuckled and replied with gratitude "Hey Papa Duffy's gold tooth has never let me down before. Why whenever we saw him at the orphanage he always showed off this bad boy in his mouth like it was a sacred treasure." to which Charlie Brown raised an eyebrow and asked in confusion "But Ed…..if the tooth was Papa Duffy's,then how'd you get it in the first place?" only for the boy to decline to answer with an evil grin "I'm not telling." After a few more moments of everyone staring at Ed with even more raised questions than they could ever imagine,Patty eventually brushed the mysterious case of his gold tooth aside and heroically stated "Well enough of that everyone,let's say we save our neighborhood." before the others nodded their heads in determination.

* * *

After Linus had called the phone number that was on the flyer and told the operator that he wanted to take the job for the day,the next thing he knew it,he was the official neighborhood monitor for the rest of the day. It was around 12:00 in the afternoon at the Van Pelt residence and he and the rest of the Peanuts gang were sitting in the middle of their living room with the intent to support him throughout his first day of work,even Rerun was determined to help his brother out in any way possible despite how young he was compared to the rest of the kids.

"Alright gang,my shift should be starting any minute now. Wish me luck,I'll need it." Linus sighed and announced to the others in a half nervous,half excited tone of voice as he glanced over at his Grandfather clock before the others started giving him words of encouragement over each other while Snoopy,Amy,Woodstock and Jasper proudly saluted like soldiers to which the boy gratefully thanked them for the support "Thanks everyone,but I think I'll need to be alone for this."

Afterwards the others left the living room and instead headed out into the front yard so Linus could be by himself and concertante better on his work,despite them still intending to watch him work from one of the outwide windows as the boy took a deep breath and confidently told himself "Okay,here goes."

_**Linus: **__Royal decision making,hey I was born to do it,yeah sure I'm slightly thinking,but there's not that much to it. Bring it on I'm ready 'cause I got this,I've got this,just watch._

"Okay Linus,time to meet your must humble subjects." Linus told himself in determination as he sat down in the master chair in the living room before kids started pouring in and giving out their concerns.

_**Boy**_** #1: **_He won't let my shop live next to his without a fight._

_**Linus: **__Hmm._

_**Boy #2: **__How can dad cut hair with this guy fiddling day and night?_

_**Linus: **__Gosh._

_**Boy #3: **__Lately half the city's overrun by cats and kitties._

_**Girl #1: **__Eating everything in sight! _

_**Linus: **__Right,sidewalk land is public I decree you'll have to share. (Hmm.) Ear plugs will do wonders you'll receive a free pair. (Thanks!) Henceforth it is written we'll feed every cat and kitten,here within the town square,fair? _

_**Crowd: **__Yeah!_

_**Linus: **__Folks the line stars there._

Meanwhile the rest of the gang was continuing to watch Linus carry out his duties for the day through the outside window and they were actually quite impressed with what he could do.

_**Peppermint Patty: **__He's got a knack for reading._

_**Marcie:**__ So far he's holding steady. _

_**Lucy: **__But folks are still complaining,so let's not throw confetti. _

_**Sally: **__Nonetheless I guess our boy has got this,he's got this,no prob._

***Seven Hours Later.***

"That,that should be the last of them." A nearly out of breath Linus choked out as he slouched on the master chair absolutely exhausted at the end of the day,but he would be suddenly startled and confused when he saw the same people from earlier barge right through the front door as he sat up straight and nervously asked "W-why are you all back? Didn't I fix you're problems?"

_**Boy #1: **__Since we shared the sidewalk we can't who tell whose shop is whose. _

_**Linus: **__Oops._

_**Boy #2: **__Dad can't hear his customers and ruin all their do's._

_**Linus: **__Sorry._

_**Boy #3: **__Now the cats are quiet-_

_**Girl #1: **__but the rats are running riot. Up and down the avenues._

_**Crowd: ***Bickering.*_

_**Linus: **__No more interviews._

As all of the disappointed and angry crowd members left the Van Pelt's house and headed off into the slowly darkening neighborhood due to the sun starting to set,Linus felt a huge feeling of disappointment and failure build up inside him as he got out of the master chair and trudged on outside to collect his mailed payload from the mailbox.

_Gosh what a huge disaster,and everybody knew it,I had one job to master and I completely blew it. I was so darn certain that I got this,but I'm not this,not yet. Who would have thought how far from getting this I could get?_

Once Linus headed back inside his house and towards his bedroom with the brown envelope that contained his pay in hand,he sat it down on his bedside dresser and groaned as he changed into his pajamas "Oh boy,today was rough,who knew that someone would complain for ten minutes about someone hurting their feelings? And then not even asking me to do anything about it?" before he glanced over at the envelope and somberly continued "I bet there's not even that much money in there,but it's a start I suppose. It's gonna be a long winter."

"**I've Got This" Copyright Of Walt Disney Records**


	8. Chapter 8: A New Plan

Chapter 8: A New Plan

So it seemed that the Peanuts gang had finally gotten a head start on their attempt to pay the bank their debit by midnight on Christmas Eve,thanks to Linus taking a small job that required him to be a neighborhood manager for the day in the place of the kid who normally did it since he was sick,he had managed to make them a little bit of money to start off their steady climb with. Unfortunately however it wasn't that much money that Linus managed to earn all things considered,because when he finally opened the envelope that contained his pay the next morning all he earned was around twenty bucks,it wasn't even a quarter of what they needed. And to make things even worse,the job that Linus ended up taking just so happened to be the only job available at the moment,there were no other jobs available that he and the others could take,they were literally stuck.

Aside from Linus and Lucy,the rest of the gang was once again at the frozen pond and they were all doing their own thing in an attempt to have themselves some fun during their winter vacation,even in the face of possible homelessness in two weeks time they still tried to not dwell on it too much during the day and think mostly positive,something that anyone would find rather commendable when faced with such a hard ship.

Peppermint Patty was busy trying to lead a black hockey puck into the small goalie they brought out from one of their garages and enthusiastically wondered while she did so "You know I'm wondering how much money Linus managed to make yesterday with that job of his. I'm guessing he may have made at least a hundred dollars cash." before she smacked the hockey puck into the other team's goalie and continued "The mere thought of making that much money makes me wanna get a job right now,and that's saying something."

Shermy and the others on the other hand were a lot more cautious and down to earth about the whole situation as the former nonchalantly disagreed while he built a small snowman "I don't know Patty,I think we should keep our expectations low. It was only one job that Linus took remember?" before Violet added in agreement while she made snow angles with Patty Swanson "Besides who could even make a hundred bucks just from sitting around and essentially being a neighborhood guidance counselor for the day? Maybe someone in Wonderland can."

"Well then again theme park mascots only have to stand around and wave their hands in a costume all day,and those guys make money by the truckload." Pig-Pen suddenly joined in on the conversation and provided a counterpoint to Violet's before Scheroder added with a hint of concern and worry while he made a small piano made out of snow "Well I'm more concerned about what we'll do if the money Linus got isn't enough,didn't Marcie say that there was only one flyer at the library?"

"Yes indeed Scheroder,it was the only flyer available and it doesn't look like they'll be updating the job table anytime soon." Marcie nodded her head and regretfully confirmed that Scherodrer was right while she read one of her many books on a tree stump as Snoopy exclaimed in disappointment "Blahhhh!" before Charlie Brown tried to lighten up the mood "Well a lot can happen in two weeks,maybe they'll have some more flyers up and about any day now."

"Hey everyone." The voice of Linus suddenly joined in on the conversation in a somber tone of voice as everyone turned to the left to see the boy and Lucy slowly walking towards them to which Peppermint Patty anxiously asked "Hey there you two,how was your pay Linus?" before Lucy angrily answered her question "We got nothing! Only twenty bucks,what a rip!" while Peppermint Patty fiercely replied while she got off the ice "What?! Twenty bucks?! That's chump change for what we need."

"Oh boy,this is not good." Sally facepalmed and timidly whimpered with worry as Snoopy started crying into the snow while Ed got down on his knees and shouted into the heavens in anguish "Why has Pappa Duffy's tooth forsaken me?! Why?!" before Violet sat up from the snow and angrily tried to hammer her prediction in "See what'd I'd tell y'all? We weren't gonna make that much money anyway from just sitting around and talking to people." to which Franklin sighed and somberly agreed "I guess you were right Violet,the only way we'll make this kind of money is if we were Broadway stars."

Immediately after Franklin said that,Charlie Brown suddenly felt a huge light bulb go off in his head and his eyes widened like he had just had an epiphany,that could have only meant that he came up with some sort of idea as he slowly turned towards Franklin and requested "Franklin…...say that again?" to which Snoopy and Ed stopped their obnoxious crying and slowly turned towards Franklin and Charlie Brown along with the others.

Franklin was of course taken aback by this sudden request of Charlie Brown's as he raised an eyebrow and asked in confusion "Huh? What do you mean?" before the boy frantically clarified "What you just said before,about the only way we'll make big money here." to which Franklin awkwardly repeated himself "The only way we'll make this kind of money is if we were broadway stars?"

"Broadway stars,that's it! I got it!" Charlie Brown grew a large style and ecstatically exclaimed in excitement as Patty Swanson replied in total confusion "What on earth are you talking about Charlie Brown?" before Lucy added equally as confused "Yeah what are you getting at here? Spit it out!" to which Charlie Brown turned around to face the others and enthusiastically clarified what he was talking about "I finally figured out how we can make the money we need,we become stage stars for the next two weeks!"

Everyone gasped in shock and bewilderment that Charlie Brown would ever make such a suggestion as Peppermint Patty scoffed and lamented the boy "Stage stars?! Did you hit your head when you got up this morning Chuck?!" to which Violet mockingly added in agreement "Did your last attempt to fly a kite result in your getting some brain damage? That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard."

"Please here me out everyone. I think this is the only way we'll be able to make sure we aren't out of the street!" Charlie Brown nervously pleaded with the others that they listen to his idea before he frantically continued "Are you forgetting that there's the old abandoned community theater stage downtown? If we just go in there and fix it up,we can easily put on some shows every couple of nights. I mean look at all of us,this is a great opportunity right here,Freida and Rebecca can nail a singing role,Snoopy can write the lyrics to the songs,and Scheroder can be a conductor! Come on this is an easy win for us!"

Everyone was left awestruck at the prospect of Charlie Brown's idea and it seemed that most of them were already on board with it as Lucy stepped forward and happily showed her support "Hey if it means that I can show off my singing talents to the entire world,then count me in Charlie Brown." before Freida cheerfully added in agreement "Same here,I've always wanted to sing in front of this kind of audience." to which Scheroder also showed his support "If this is how I start my musical career,I'm glad this is how it's gonna work out."

"I'll do anything to make sure we still have homes on Christmas,I'm coming with you Charlie Brown." Rebecca meekly decided to join Charlie Brown and the others as she patted the boy on the shoulder and made him blush a little before Linus happily showed his support for the idea as well "As long as I don't have to do more neighborhood managing,I say we go for it." to which Sally cheerfully added while she got up close to him "And wherever you go,I go sweetie,I'm with you too big brother." which resulted in Linus nearly getting sick.

"I've heard of far worse ideas,might as well work with what we got." Shermy sighed and reluctantly decided to go along with the idea as Pig-Pen nodded his head in agreement while Marcie calmly added "It seems that Charles's idea might be our last hope,what do you think sir?" to which Peppermint Patty placed her hand on her chin and pondered for a few moments before she happily came to a decision "You know Chuck,I never thought you'd be one to suggest the option of musical theater,but I guess it's all we got. Let's try to make the best of it-"

"Hold on!" The voice of Violet suddenly interrupted everyone's conversation as the rest of the gang looked over to see Violet with a cold and bitter look on her face before she continued "I hate to try and ruin everyone's parade here,but have you ever considered the subject of how we'll pay for all this?! Cleaning the theater and making theater props for the shows while also having to make enough money to pay the bank?!"

As a result of hearing this harsh descent back into reality,everyone started to feel their spirits be brought down a tad as Charlie Brown regretfully groaned "Oh that's right,rats." before Ed somberly sighed "You know Chuck ole boy,I'm 100% down with this plan of yours,but if we can't get the money needed to clean the theater and make props,we can't even get past the greenlighting phase." to which Snoopy whined in disappointment.

However it was then and there that Charlie Brown suddenly got another idea in mind,one that could possibly help them with their money problem,but the main issue with this one was that it involved someone they greatly despised and possibly didn't even want to see again,and it definitely showed when he grew a huge look of uncertainty and caution on his face. Linus and the others were quick to notice this odd behavior of his and decided to confront him about it as the former asked in concern "Are you alright there Charlie Brown?" before Peppermint Patty added when she also noticed the boy's condition "Chuck are you feeling sick? I told you not to eat that five day old Pizza the other night." to which Charlie Brown calmed himself down and sighed "Gang,I don't think you're gonna like this but…...I think we should go to the bank and ask James for help."

"What?!" The entire gang shouted in awe and disbelief that Charlie Brown would ever suggest that they go to James for help as Peppermint Patty sternly refused "Absolutely not!" before Lucy angrily added in agreement "Those snitches at the bank are responsible for all of this! And you expect us to go to THEM for help?! No way!" to which Linus added much more calm and collected "I really don't think we should go to them for assistance here,it's like a diabetic going to a Baskin Robbins for sugar control advice."

"Yeah but-"

"I wouldn't touch that place with a thirty nine and a half foot pole!" Ed fiercely interrupted Charlie Brown's attempt to explain himself and his motive before Sally furiously remarked "I'd rather go to school than to that bank,at least I can stomach the teachers." to which Violet nodded her head and agreed "You said it,this plan is just doomed for failure!"

"Guys listen!" Charlie Brown suddenly shouted at the top of his lungs in frustration as everyone finally stopped their arguing and allowed the boy to try to explain himself "Look guys,I know you don't like James,I don't like him either,in fact I nearly got sick at the thought of going to him for help,but like it or not he is our only way of getting the money we need. If we can just persuade him to loan us enough money for our shows then we're set,all we'll need to do then is get enough people to see our shows and that should be more than enough to get us out of the hole. So why don't we go to the bank and try to save our homes?"

The rest of the gang merely stood there in complete silence and their looks of anger and reluctance to go to James for help had since faded away into one's of slight guilt,like they were starting to realize that Charlie Brown was right about their situation. After a few more moments of this unnerving silence,Peppermint Patty sighed and reluctantly obliged to go to the bank "All right Chuck,I guess we do have no choice here." before Lucy added in agreement "I never thought I'd be asking James for help,but I'll do what's right for the neighborhood and the people that live in it. After all that's what a strong queen would do right?"

Charlie Brown chuckled in response to Lucy's joke and was quickly followed by the others slowly but surely showing their support as they nodded their heads in determination back to back while Snoopy and the animals saluted like soilders to which Charlie Brown heroically stated "Come on gang,let's go get our homes back and become stars." before they all headed over to the nearest bus stop,for their next destination was the bank of Sparkyville.

_Our time has come we're gonna,walk in the sun oh._

_ I've packed my hopes,we're ready to roll,we're on our way. _

_With a little faith we can step from the shadows and tell everyone,"Turn the spotlight on,now our time has come." _

_Our time has come we're heading,straight for the sun oh. _

_With heart and soul,and watch us go,we're on our way. _

_With a little love we know,nothing can stop us so tell everyone,"Turn the spotlight on,now our time has come."_

_Are you ready to wish upon a star?_

_(Well I'll be ready to follow my own heart.)_

_Are you ready to be set free? _

_(Well I'll be ready to reach out for that dream.) Just over the horizon._

_Our time has come we're gonna,walk in the sun oh._

_ I've packed my hopes,we're ready to roll,we're on our way. _

_With a little faith we can step from the shadows and tell everyone "Turn the spotlight on,now our time has come." _

_Are you ready to make your move? _

_(Well I'll be ready for a miracle to come true.)_

_Are you ready for the world to believe in you?_

_ (Well I'll be ready to reach out for that dream.) Just over the horizon. _

_Our time has come we're gonna,walk in the sun oh._

_I've packed my hopes,we're ready to roll,we're on our way._

_With a little love we know,nothing can stop us so tell everyone "Turn the spotlight on,now our time has come."_

_ (Ahhhhh!) Ooooooooo!_

_Can you feel the power now? __The day is ours._

_For you and I,there comes a time to hold our heads high. _

_Make a little history,each time we dare to dream tell everyone,"Turn the spotlight on. Now our time has come." _

_Our time has come we're gonna,walk in the sun oh. _

_I've packed my hopes,we're ready to roll,we're on our way._

_Make a little history,each time we dare to dream tell everyone,"Turn the spotlight on,(spotlight!),now our time has come." _

_Our time has come. Our time. _

_Our time has come. Our time._

_ Our time has come. Our time. _

_Our time has come. Our time._

* * *

Meanwhile at the aforementioned bank of Sparkyville,there was a very busy day going on inside and it consisted of many people going in and out for the purposes of either depositing money,taking out money,bringing in checks,or just having meetings with the higher ups for whatever reason. James however wasn't able to partake in any of the chaos going on outside and was instead restricted to the confines of his personal office,it was around the size of an average bedroom for a kid and had a dark grey wallpaper plastered across the walls,giving the office an empty and lifeless vibe to it.

James had a nice window view of the outside,a small TV plugged into the wall,his very own wooden work desk that had a single coffee coaster and a small computer on it,and last but not least a very tall and towering painting of his old father,the runner of the bank behind him and staring across the room. James himself was busy sitting at his desk and doing some work on the computer with a small cup of coffee next to him,something strangely odd for a kid at his age,but he never seemed to show any distaste or hatred for his work either.

However James's attention would suddenly be diverted away from his computer and over to his shut office door when he heard a very faint yet still audible knocking come from the other side. This was a little strange to James considering the fact that he hadn't recalled scheduling any meetings or anything of the sort really,but in the end he decided to be a polite gentleman and let the mysterious strangers in anyway as he called out while he continued to work on the computer "The door is open! Wipe your shoes!" to which the door slowly creaked open and he heard what sounded like multiple people entering the office.

Once everyone had supposedly made it inside and they shut the doors behind him,James cleared his throat and respectfully greeted them as he took his eyes off the computer screen "Good afternoon everyone,I am-" but stopped dead in his tracks when he saw that all of the people in his office were the same kids and animals from the other day,with the beagle in particular wearing a black suit,tie and pair of sunglasses glasses in disguise.

"Hello James,it's nice to see you again." Peppermint Patty coldly and bitterly greeted the boy in a sarcastic tone of voice as James grew a slight look of bitterness himself and coldly greeted them back "Well if it isn't the lovely children from the other day,and here I thought my day would be clean and free of unwanted pests." to which Lucy angrily tried to open her mouth and chew out the overly sophisticated rat only for Charlie Brown to cut her off "We've come to the bank with a special proposition in mind,and we think that this will not only help us with the debt we owe,but it will also get you out of the financial hole you're in. Think of it as a way to avoid needlessly making us homeless."

"So we really think you should listen to it,if you know what's good for you." Ed nodded his head and sternly added with a rough and brash voice before James ultimately caved in and obliged to hear them out "Alright,I'll bite,what do you got for me?" to which Charlie Brown cleared his throat and explained their plan to him "We have decided to put on a show at the community theater for two nights each in the next two weeks,best case scenario this would definitely make us enough money to pay off the debt. If you can just loan us enough money for us to clean up the theater and make stage props,that'd be great."

"What makes you think I'd do this for you? To practically steal money from the very place I work for just so you can perform your little broadway shows?" James scoffed and sternly refused to give them any money before Linus sneered in bewilderment and retorted "Because then you'd be helping out a lot of people and preventing them from from being homeless. I'd say that's a pretty good enough reason to help us out." only for James to once again decline to help much more fearful "Oh please my father would kill me if he found out I stole money from the bank,and he'd make it even worse if he found it was for some...performers."

"Oh come on your financial state is so out of whack that he'd barely notice." Lucy rolled her eyes and provided a counterpoint to James's before Rebecca suddenly asked out of curiosity "Wait,James what do you mean by your father will make things worse if he found out you took money for performers?" to which James grew a somber look on his face and slowly turned around in his chair to face the painting of his father and explained himself "When I was little,I always wanted to be a stage performer,I had a huge passion for music and dancing and…..I always wanted to be able to go to places around the world and entertain people from miles around. But to my father,such a dream was foolish and nothing but poppycock,and whenever I expressed my love for the art of musical theater,all my dad saw was a failure and a disappointment. And one night I decided that maybe…..maybe I should just give up my dream and instead go after my father's,which was for me to be the best banker in the world no matter the age I was."

James then got a much more serious look on his face and turned around to face the others again as he concluded "And that is exactly what I plan to do for the rest of my life,as long as it means I can make my father proud of his son." before Charlie Brown nervously gulped and suggested "Well,come with us then. You can still live out your dream of being a performer,and I can guarantee that loads and loads of people are gonna love you out there. So please…..try to help us out here." to which the others nodded their heads in support. Granted they all despised James to the core because of how much of a snob he was,but they were willing to do anything if it meant that they'd be able to save their homes,even allowing him to join their crusade.

However it seemed that James was still quite reluctant to join them as he merely shook his head and declined yet again "Nope,sorry,you're gonna have to do a lot better than that to convince me." before Ed suddenly straightened out his fedora and determinedly confirmed that he would "All right then,we will!"

_**Ed: **__Right here,right now,we put the offer out,we don't want to chase you down,we know you see it._

_**Charlie Brown: **__You run,with us,and we can cut you free,out of the treachery and walls you keep in._

_**Linus: **__So trade that typical,for something colorful,and if it's crazy live a little crazy._

_**Scheroder: **__You can play it sensible,a king of conventional,or you can risk it all and see._

_**Peanuts Gang: **__Don't you wanna get away from the same old part you gotta play? 'Cause we got what you need so come with us and take the ride,it'll take you to the other side. _

_'Cause you can do like you do,or you can do like us,stay in the cage or you'll finally take the key. Oh,dang suddenly you're free to fly,it'll take you to the other side. _

_**James: **__Okay,my friends,you want to cut me in. Well I hate to tell you but it just won't happen. So thanks,but no,I think I'm good to go,'cause I quite enjoy the life you say I'm trapped in._

_Now I admire you,and that whole show you'll do,you're onto something really it's something. But I live among the swells and we don't pick up peanut shells,I'll have to leave that to you._

_Don't you know that I'm okay with this uptown part I get to play? 'Cause I got what I need and I don't want to take the ride. I don't need to see the other side._

_So go and do like you do,I'm good to do like me,ain't in a cage so I don't need to take the key. Oh,dang can't you see I'm doing fine? I don't need to see the other side._

_**Marcie: **__Is this really how you like to spend your days,coffee and misery and parties and plays?_

_**James: **__If I were mixed up with you I'd be the talk of the town,disgraced and disowned another one of the clowns._

_**Rebecca: **__But you would finally live a little,finally laugh a little,just let us give you the freedom to dream and it'll wake you up,and cure your aching._

_**Shermy: **__Take your walls and start 'em breaking._

_**Peanuts Gang: **__Now that's a deal that seems worth takin,but we guess we'll leave that up to you._

The Peanuts gang then proceeded to slowly make their way towards the office door in an attempt to give James just amount to think the whole thing over,and it was then that the harsh words of his father began to echo in his head like he was actually hearing them in real life "Why must you turn this family into a house of failure?" before he suddenly had a new thought enter his mind,one that he hadn't thought of before. "_Could…...could helping them save their homes and the bank make father proud of me?" _James thought to himself out of curiosity before he finally came to a decision just as Charlie Brown touched the copper doorknob to the office.

_**James: **__Well it's intriguing but to go would cost me greatly,so what percentage of the show would we be taking?_

_**Linus: **__Well fair enough you'd want a piece of all the action._

_**Lucy: **__I'd give you seven,we could shake and make it happen. _

_**James: **__I wasn't born this morning,eighteen would be just fine. _

_**Violet: **__Why not just go ahead and ask for nickels on the dime?_

_**James: **__Fifteen._

_**Franklin: **__We do eight._

_**James: **__Twelve._

_**Snoopy's Thoughts: **__Maybe nine._

_**James: **__Ten!_

It now seemed that was finally the perfect compromise that they could agree to as Charlie Brown smiled and happily stated while he shook hands with James "Now that's more like James,we're glad to have you aboard. Right everyone?" to which the rest of the gang cheered in excitement.

_**Everyone: **__Don't you wanna get away to a whole new part you're gonna play? 'Cause I got what you need so come with us and take the ride,to the other side. _

_**Peanuts Gang: **__So if you do like we do._

_**James: **__So if you do like me._

_**Everyone: **__Forget the cage 'cause we know how to make the key. Oh,dang suddenly we're free to fly,we're going to the other side._

_**James: **__So if you do like I do. _

_**Peanuts Gang: **__To the other side!_

_**James: **__So if you do like me._

_**Peanuts Gang: **__Going to the other side._

_**James: **__Cause we're going-_

_**Everyone: **__to the other side! We're going to the other side!_

* * *

Later that very same evening,the bank was just getting ready to shut it's doors for the day,and Charlie Brown and the others had long since headed home with the intent to start cleaning up the community theater the next day thanks to James loaning them some money.

Speaking of which,James himself was still in his office and he was tidying everything up inside so it would be nice and clean the next day,however his attention would be suddenly diverted to behind him when he heard his father calling from the main lobby "James! It's time to go home!" to which the boy opened his door and replied from all the way across the lobby "I'll be there soon father!"

Afterwards James slowly glanced upward at the painting of his father staring right at him as he sighed and reassuringly stated "Don't worry dad,I'll fix this,I promise. I will make you proud of me." before he slowly made his way outside and through the ginormous,empty and golden lobby due to the setting sun shining through the windows.

_**James: **__Maybe I make things a mess. And maybe you're right to have doubts in me. Maybe but never the less,if you for once could just trust me. __Just this once,let me come through for you. The way that you want me to. _

_Let me make you proud. Let me show you the best in me. Let me give you a reason to believe that I can stand tall._

_And when I return,and I'm more than you dreamt I'd be,maybe then you will realize that you never actually knew me at all. _

James however suddenly stopped dead in his tracks when he suddenly came across the honorary statue of his father in the middle of the bank lobby as he looked up at it and heard the same words echo in his head yet again "Why must you turn this family into a house of failure?"

_Sure I've made lots of mistakes. I know I've disappointed you. Still though whatever it takes,I'm gonna fix it just watch me. __Just you wait,I'll make it up to you,if it's the last thing I ever do._

_I will make you proud. I will make you have faith in me. I will prove that the way I used to be is all in the past._

_I will save the day,and come back here triumphantly,'cause I long for that look of surprise when you see your son rising at last. The pride in your eyes when you see your son rising at last!_

"**Our Time Has Come." Copyright Of Warner Bros**

"**The Other Side." Copyright Of Atlantic Records**

"**Let Me Make You Proud." Copyright Of Walt Disney Records**


	9. Chapter 9: Remodeling Time

Chapter 9: Remodeling Time

Charlie Brown and the others awoke the next morning with a very clear goal in mind,now that James had officially loaned them some money from the bank in secret,they could finally start cleaning up the community theater downtown and start their temporary stage careers. If they could get enough people to see their shows for the nights they would hold them in the next two weeks,they would practically have way more than enough to pay off their debt to the bank.

Charlie Brown was sitting on the steps that led up to his back door in the backyard,he was just staring off into the yellow morning sky as he quietly whispered to himself in anticipation "Just you wait Charles,pretty soon we'll have us enough money to buy us a car…..or at least I hope we will." before he suddenly heard the sound of the door behind him opening to which he slowly turned around to see Rebecca standing at the doorway.

"Oh,hi there Rebecca." Charlie Brown happily greeted his friend as Rebecca calmly greeted him back while she sat down on the stairs "Hi Charlie Brown,your sister let me in. So today's the start of something big. Super excited." Charlie Brown however was quick to notice that Rebecca seemed a little…..off,aside from the words coming out of her mouth she didn't look nearly as excited as she said she was as he raised an eyebrow and politely confronted her about it "Are you alright Rebecca? Is something wrong?" to which the girl perked up,forced a smile on her face and fibbed "What? No,everything's fine. I'm just tired that's all."

Charlie Brown on the other hand was not believing her lying one bit as he merely gave off a stern and authoritative glare at Rebecca to which the girl's smile slowly reduced back into a frown before she sighed and caved in "Alright I'll tell you,I've been thinking about the money we got yesterday and….and I was wondering if I could…..borrow some of it?" to which Charlie Brown replied in slight confusion "Borrow? Well what for?"

"Well,it's just that…..I want to start building Ed's house soon and I was gonna see if I could use some of the money we got to help me build it? I mean I went out and found a nice patch of woods nearby that would be the perfect place for it,so I just need a little bit of the money so I can build it easier….please." Rebecca nervously explained her reasoning for wanting to borrow some of the money in the first place while Charlie Brown merely sat there in total silence for at least five seconds to which Rebecca sat up from the stairs and tried to call the whole thing off "On second thought,no,we need the money for the-"

"Rebecca,of course you can borrow some." Charlie Brown suddenly interrupted Rebecca's attempt to call off her money borrowing scheme before he cheerfully continued "We got plenty of money,Linus tallied it all up last night and he said that we have way more than enough. I'm beginning to think that James may have overdone it a little." to which Rebecca grew a wide smile and timidly thanked him "Charlie…..I...t-thank you so much."

Charlie Brown got a little red in the face as a result of this and stammered in an attempt to brush his deed aside like it was nothing "It's really nothing Rebecca,in fact if we have any money left when this is all done,that can go towards our pay the bank plot. You don't need to feel guilty,like a leech,or anything of the sort." before Rebecca got a little red in the face herself and nodded her head in agreement "Yeah,you're right,there's nothing to worry about."

However it was then and there that Rebecca suddenly noticed in her peripheral vision that Snoopy wasn't on top of his doghouse,and that Amy and Woodstock weren't in their cozy little nest up in the tree as she grew a slight look of concern and asked "Hey,where's Snoopy,Amy and Woodstock?" only for Charlie Brown to shrug his arms and reply honestly confused himself "I guess the three of them and Jasper stayed on the bus and went off to a bar,but aside from that,who knows where they could be? Honestly I wish I did know because the more help we have at the theater the better." to which Rebecca perked up and excitedly suggested "You know speaking of which,why don't we head over to the theater and get this show started?"

"Yeah you're right,the others should be meeting us by the road." Charlie Brown nodded his head and enthusiastically agreed with Rebecca's decision as he stood up from the stairs and made his way back inside with Rebecca following him.

* * *

However they weren't even able to make it halfway through the kitchen before Sally suddenly came running in and frantically announced "Big brother! You have to take a look outside,there's a band of dogs by the road!" to which Charlie Brown perked up and asked himself in confusion "Band of dogs? Wait a minute,is it them?" before he made his way for the front door and opened it to be immediately greeted by the familiar sight of Snoopy's family,the thin as a needle Spike,the massively overweight Olaf,the incredibly shaggy furred Andy,the absolutely beautiful with a heart shaped patch of black fur Belle and lastly the multiple brown spotted and shoes wearing Marbles standing at the edge of the sidewalk. They all seemed to have their instruments from the reunion they had with Snoopy a couple years ago in hand such as Spike and Belle's fiddles,Olaf's empty blow bottle,Marbles's banjo and lastly Andy's set of drums.

"Hey! Spike,Olaf,Andy,Belle,Marbles! When did y'all get here?" Charlie Brown happily greeted the family of beagles as they all smiled and waved at him before Rebecca came to the front door and happily greeted them as well when she also noticed their presence "Hey you guys! It's nice to see the four of y'all again." to which the beagles happily waved at her as well.

"I was just on my way to check the mail when I suddenly saw these guys walking up the street. I have no idea what they're doing here big brother." The voice of Sally suddenly joined in on the conversation in confusion while she walked out the front door all ready to go as Charlie Brown got a slight look of confusion as well and added "Yeah that is strange,what are you guys doing here anyway?" to which they all pulled out four white pieces of paper and handed them to Charlie Brown before he rolled his eyes and read the first one out loud

"Dear Marbles,

It has come to my attention that me and my friends could possibly be losing our homes on Christmas Day,so we have decided to start putting on a couple shows at the community theater,would you and the rest of the family be willing to join us here and be orchestra and possible cast members?

Your Brother,Snoopy."

It now seemed that Snoopy was willing to hire some extra help for their cause as Charlie Brown glanced at the pitch black pawprint at the very bottom of the letter for a brief moment before he looked back up at the beagles and asked in awe just to be sure "So you guys are here to help us out with the shows?" to which the dogs cheerfully nodded their heads.

"Aww thanks you guys,that's really sweet of y'all to come all the way out here to help us." Rebecca happily thanked the beagles as she rubbed the fur on their heads one by one,making Andy,Spike,Olaf and Marbles's faces turn bright red before the fat beagle told the others through his thoughts with a dopey smile _"I really like this girl,she gives the best belly rubs." _before the other three males nodded their heads in agreement.

However it was then and there that Charlie Brown noticed that the others hadn't remotely showed up yet despite them all agreeing to meet up in front of his house as he looked around the sidewalk and asked in confusion "Where is everyone? I thought we were all gonna meet over here and then head over to the theater?" to which the others also looked around in an attempt to see if the rest of the gang were on their way,only for them to see nothing but the unwinding neighborhood streets.

"You know that also reminds me,Snoopy,Woodstock,Amy and Jasper aren't here either." Rebecca suddenly perked up and remarked with a hint of worry in her voice as Charlie Brown rolled his eyes and groaned "Oh good grief." before Sally nervously asked the beagles "Did any of you guys see them or the others on your way here?" to which the dogs merely shrugged their arms,signifying that they hadn't seen them.

"Well this is just great-"

***HONK!***

The loud and blaring roar of what sounded like a car's horn suddenly interrupted Charlie Brown's sarcastic remark as he,Rebecca and Sally were launched up into the air and they all screamed in terror before they landed on the ground with a loud thud. "What in the world was-" Charlie Brown tried to ask in a pained tone of voice as he stood back up and regained his posture with the others before he stopped dead in his tracks when he saw what looked like a bright yellow tour bus parked in front of them,and the sight of it was all the boy needed for him to realize what this meant as he facepalmed and quietly groaned to himself "Why do I already know who's inside that thing?"

Sally on the other hand was absolutely furious as a result of this little stunt of the driver as she stormed straight towards the shut bus door and demanded while she pounded her fists on it "What's the big idea of scaring us half to death like that?! Come on out and show yourself!" to which the door immediately opened up to reveal none other than Snoopy,Woodstock,Amy,Jasper and all the other birds at the driver's seat wearing blue conductor hats before they all burst out into hysterical laughter.

"Snoopy?!" Rebecca asked in complete shock and bewilderment just to make sure that she was seeing things right while Charlie Brown merely rolled his eyes and sarcastically remarked "Wow,how surprising? It's not like you did this exact same trick before Snoopy." before Spike,Olaf,Andy,Marbles and Belle happily greeted their brother in unison with cheers and laughing of their own to which the driver finally noticed their presence outside,ecstatically jumped out of the bus and came together with his family for a group hug.

"_Hey there brother,how have you been?" _Spike happily greeted his brother and asked out of curiosity through his thoughts as Snoopy broke free of their hugs and cheerfully replied _"Oh nothing,just on the verge of becoming a Broadway star!" _before Belle enthusiastically asked for clarification _"You mean like Idina Menzel from Wicked?" _to which Marbles added equally as excited _"Or Michael Crawford from The Phantom Of The Opera?" _

"_Yep,except we're gonna be even better!" _Snoopy nodded his head and ecstatically confirmed their guesses before the rest of the Peanuts gang along with Rerun suddenly came waltzing out of the bus and onto the sidewalk as Sally,Charlie Brown and Rebecca all gasped at once "HUH?!" to which Linus chuckled and immediately tried to explain themselves "We know you're confused,so let us try to explain what's going on."

"You better because I have so many questions entering my mind right now,I think it may explode!" Sally fearfully pleaded that they go ahead and tell them why they were here like this as Peppermint Patty cleared her throat and cheerfully replied "Well me,Marcie and Franklin were just on our way to meet you guys here,until good ole Snoop over here suddenly showed up in this tour bus." before Rerun suddenly noticed Spike's presence and happily greeted him with a hug "Hey Spike! It's been ages since I've seen you,I'm glad you're here thus Christmas."

"Yeah,but back to what we were saying,after Snoopy and the other animals showed up in the bus,they offered to pick us all up one by one and give us a ride to the theater. Certainly saves us a lot of money than having to take the regular bus." Marcie brushed Rerun's reunion with Spike aside and happily continued to which Linus finally concluded their explanation of how they all got there "Yeah,and all we gotta do now is pick you guys up and we'll be off to the theater."

"Well that sure explains it all doesn't it?" Charlie Brown rolled his eyes and questioned in a sarcastic tone of voice before Peppermint Patty ecstatically suggested "Yes it does Chuck! So why don't we all get our behinds in here already and let's get this show on the road?!" to which everyone happily cheered in excitement and piled onto the tour bus,with the exception of Charlie Brown however who instead went back up the stairs to his house for a brief moment.

"Alright Charles,you just have to make sure that you have enough money left for Rebecca's birthday party tomorrow night. You gotta make her first birthday in Sparkyville a great one." Charlie Brown quietly whispered to himself in determination as he locked up the front door to his house before he suddenly heard the sound of the bus starting up and taking off without him as he turned around and yelled in a panic while he ran after it "Hey! Don't forget about me! I'm still out here! Stop!" to which Snoopy finally stopped the bus and allowed Charlie Brown to get on.

"Not. Funny." Charlie Brown angrily scolded Snoopy for nearly leaving him behind back at the house even if he didn't intend to when he noticed the dog and the rest of the animals quietly giggling to themselves before he slowly headed over to the last remaining seat at the back of the bus while Snoopy started it back up and made his way towards the community theater downtown.

* * *

Once everyone had finally made it to the old and nature overridden building that was once Sparkyville's greatest source of musical entertainment downtown,they all piled off of the bus and headed on inside to see that the inside of the building wasn't that much better,in fact it was equally as old and decrypted as the outside was,which resulted in some of them getting a little bit intimidated by the mere sight of the wear and tear. But to Charlie Brown however,this was nothing that they couldn't fix up as long as they made a huge team effort as he slowly looked around the huge auditorium and confidently stated "We can make this work,let's clean this place up gang." to which all of their spirits were all lifted up in a flash and they all nodded their heads in determination.

"Ah good morning everyone and…..beagles." The voice of James suddenly joined in on the conversation as everyone turned around to see the boy himself in a more casual and work geared set of clothes at the front doors while Peppermint Patty greeted him in confusion "James? What are you doing here?" to which the boy cheerfully explained himself "Well my father has for once given me a day off,so I've decided to use it to come help you all out. If that's alright of course."

"Hey the more help we have,the better. It's nice to have you here James." Linus chuckled and enthusiastically obliged to let James help them out with the cleaning with a handshake to which Charlie Brown nodded his head and cheerfully added while he turned back around to face the stage "Linus is right,come on everyone,it's showtime." And the next thing they all knew,they were fixing up the theater with help from James,Snoopy's family,Woodstock,Amy,Jasper and the rest of the birds.

_Just before the dawn,when the light's still gone,shine,shine your way. _

_And you may not know,where to go,shine,shine your way._

_Open road but it's still dark,build a fire from a spark and shine,shine your way. _

_Feed the feeling in your heart,don't conceal it then you'll to start to find,find your way._

_(No one can stop,what has begun,you must believe when I say.) _

_"All of your tears will dry faster in the sun,(starting today),shine,shine,shine,shine your way."_

Sometime later during the day,Rebecca had decided to use some of the money that Charlie Brown had given her to finally start building her dream home for Ed in the woods while the others were on a lunch break back at the theater.

_(There's an open sky,and a reason why you shine,shine your way.)_

_(There's so much to learn,and now it's your turn to shine,shine your way.)_

_There's a feeling deep inside,you can let it be your guide to find,find your way. _

_And there's no time for us to waste,got to take a leap of faith and fly,fly away. _

_(Don't have to walk,now you can run,nothing can get in your way.) _

_All of your tears will dry faster in the sun,(starting today),shine,shine,shine,shine your way._

Pretty soon things were looking pretty good at the theater and they were actually going by pretty quick as well. Snoopy,his family,the birds and Scheroder were writing the lyrics to the songs. Violet,Rebecca,Lucy,Sally and Patty Swanson were designing the costumes and props backstage,and Charlie Brown and the others were continuing to clean up the auditorium.

_Morning is breaking. (Darkness is fading.) We've found our way to the light,it's such a beautiful sight._

_Anytime,anywhere,turn around and I'll be there to shine,shine your way. _

_(Like a star burning bright,lighting up the darkest night I'll shine),shine your way._

_(Now I can see),you are the one,(sent here to show me the way.)_

_ All of our tears will dry faster in the sun,(starting today),shine,shine,shine. _

_We're on our way. Shine,shine,shine. That's what we say,shine,shine,shine,shine your way! _

_There's a reason why you shine,shine your way! All of our tears will dry faster in the sun,shine your way!_

"**Shine Your Way." Copyright Of Relatively Music Group. Written By Alan Silvestri,Glen Ballard,Kirk Demicco,and Chris Sanders. Performed by Owl City and Yuna.**


	10. Chapter 10: A New Place Called Home

Chapter 10: A New Place Called Home

As the day went on and on,things just seemed to be going very smoothly at the theater when it came to cleaning it up,making new costumes,props and writing songs for the multiple shows they planned to do,not to mention that Rebecca had been using every bit of free time she had on her hands to make the perfect dream house for Ed in a small patch of woods near their neighborhood. Granted it was super annoying for Rebecca to have to constantly go back and forth between the two locations considering how far apart they were,but if it meant she'd be able to give Ed a nice home that would shelter him from the harshness of the winter cold at night,it was well worth it for her.

It was now nearing the end of the day at the theater downtown and like mentioned before,the gang had been doing a pretty phenomenal job with the work they had done. As a result of everyone coming together along with the help of Snoopy's family,James and the rest of the birds,they had effectively and completely remodeled the entire theater from top to bottom in almost a day,and the gang was honestly pretty surprised themselves to think that they had done all this work in just a day.

"Wow,I can't believe we just did all this." Freida deeply sighed and remarked in awe as she and Violet looked around the auditorium and saw just how much work they did to which the latter couldn't help but agree as well "I never thought we'd be able to do this much work in just one day,it's so bizarre to think that WE did this." before Linus suddenly joined in on the conversation and happily retorted "That's the thing with teamwork you two,when you truly put your mind to it,we can practically do anything."

"You said it Linus." The voice of Peppermint Patty suddenly responded in a cheerful tone of voice before she patted the boy on the shoulder and gleefully added "After all it was teamwork that allowed us to beat those bullies at Camp Remote. We got this whole concept in the bag." to which Scheroder overheard the remark and wondered "You know that just gave me the thought of those jerks having to work together,I don't think they'd even get past stage one."

"Unless it involves cheating,those goons would be dead in the water." Patty Swanson added in agreement when she also overheard the conversation before Snoopy and his family suddenly came walking by with a huge mountain of paper in their hands to which Scheroder gasped and questioned in awe when he saw them "Good grief are those really all the lyrics to the songs? Imagine all the music I'm gonna have to play!" only for the beagles to ignore his concerns and plop the music sheets right into the boy's hands.

"Oh I'm gonna have some type of arthritis by the time this all done." Scheroder rolled his eyes and quietly groaned to himself before he decided to look at the songs that Snoopy,his family and the birds had wrote. However as he continued to look at the finished songs that he and the animals had made,his general look of indifference and dread slowly began to morph into a faint smile as he couldn't help but compliment the writers "Snoopy,you guys these…..these are great. The lyrics,the melodies,this are high quality stuff right here." to which the beagles gave off very smug grins in response.

"And some of these are made specifically with some of us in mind." Scheroder happily continued to sing his praises to the songwriters before he handed a few of the music sheets to Freida and cheerfully announced "For example Freida,this one right here is for you and Charlie Brown. It sure looks like a bopper that will do wonders for my piano career." to which the naturally curly haired girl slowly looked through the pages that contained her and Charlie Brown's song with intrigue.

After a few more moments of this,Freida also began to develop an excited and cheerful grin as she handed the sheet music back to Scheroder and happily remarked "Oh you're right Scheroder,this looks like a killer song,especially with the jazz too." before Violet suddenly asked in an anxious sounding voice "D-Do I get any songs of my own?" only for Scheroder to regretfully bid some bad news to her while he looked back through the songs "Unfortunately no Violet,it seems that you,Patty,Peppermint Patty,Sally,Marcie,Pig-Pen,Linus,Lucy,Rerun,Ed,Shermy,Franklin and me will be relegated to chorus and backup singers until further notice."

"What?! Backup singers?!" Violet angrily exclaimed in bewilderment that she would be put into the chorus and backup singer category before she fiercely glared at Snoopy,his family and the rest of the animals who had just now joined them which resulted in all of them nervously smiling at the fuming girl. Peppermint Patty on the other hand was actually okay with being a backup singer as she merely shrugged her arms and tried to cheer Violet up "Hey it ain't no big deal Violet,it's not like we aren't getting to sing at all. Besides I'm sure we'll all still be dancing on stage and all that other kind of stuff." before the animals nervously nodded their heads in agreement to which Violet folded her arms and reluctantly settled with her role "Alright,I guess it ain't THAT bad after all."

* * *

Meanwhile at the back of the stage,Charlie Brown,Sally,Lucy and Linus were taking a look at the costumes and stage props that Lucy,Sally and some of the other girls ended up making,and the two boys were very impressed by what they were able to make. The boys costumes consisted of very fancy black suits along with canes and top hats that were each made with very smooth silk,and the girls ended up having sparkly white silk dresses along with a glittery pink tiara for each of them. The stage props they made were also pretty impressive,with one of them in particular being a very tall piece of cardboard that was painted and cut out to look like city buildings at night.

"Wow,Lucy,Sally,you all did great with these. I'm very impressed." Charlie Brown happily complimented the two girls for their work with the costumes and stage props as Sally merely brushed their impeccable talents aside like they were nothing "Is that really supposed to be a surprise to you big brother? Have you not seen my work from art class at school?" to which her brother got a confused look on his face and replied "No,because you never let me see them because they in your own words,suck."

"Oh." Sally timidly remarked in slightly embarrassment before Lucy rolled her eyes and nonchalantly replied "Well the point still stands that these are simply the finest designs in the history of musical theater,so I ask that you show us the highest level of respect now that we have almost single handedly made this show." to which Linus lightly facepalmed himself and reluctantly obliged "Well just to make sure I can avoid something horrible if I do anything otherwise,sure thing Lucy."

However it was then that their conversation and marveling at the stage props and costumes was suddenly interrupted when Marcie came backstage and asked the four of them "Hey,have any of you seen Rebecca around? I haven't seen her or Ed in a while." only for Sally to shrug her arms out of a sense of not knowing while Lucy and Linus shook their heads in confusion before Charlie Brown added equally as confused himself "No Marcie I can't say I have,in fact I haven't seen them at all for quite a while. I wonder where they went." to which Marcie made a quick guess as to where the two of them were "Do you think they could have gone out to build that house of Ed's? Rebecca has been using every bit of free time she's had today to build that thing."

"It does seem possible Charlie Brown,should we go ahead and get them? It is getting pretty late." Linus couldn't help but agree with Marcie's guess and suggested as he looked at his watch to see that it was almost 6:30 PM before Charlie Brown sighed and agreed "Yeah I guess we should call it a day." to which Sally gave a huge sigh of relief and happily remarked "Oh finally,I am completely exhausted."

"Same here." Lucy nodded her head and agreed with the girl as she stretched out her arms out of exhaustion to which Linus felt himself get a little tired as well and suggested with a yawn "Let's say we round everyone up and head for home. I could use a nap." before the five of them headed back out to the stage where everyone was conveniently gathered and doing their own thing.

* * *

After a few more moments Lucy cleared her throat and sternly called out to the others "Alright everyone,group meeting time!" to which everyone instantly stopped what they were doing and gathered round in the middle of the stage before Charlie Brown calmly stated "So it looks like we sure did a good job of redecorating the theater today,it looks just as good as new and like nothing ever happened to it in the first place."

"And we made some of the finest theater props and costumes in the history of stage entertainment." Violet suddenly interrupted Charlie Brown's meeting speech with a smug and egotistical tone of voice as Lucy and Sally nodded their heads and agreed in unison "Yes we did indeed." before Scherofer added much more calmly while he stood by the animals "And Snoopy and the rest of us wrote all of the songs for our shows,you're all gonna love them."

"I sure hope the audience does more so." Shermy sighed and nervously retorted out of fear that the audience might not enjoy their songs before Pig-Pen added equally as nervous himself "I just hope the audience will see my dust cloud as an aesthetic decision on the visual side and not downvote the show as a result." to which Charlie Brown rolled his eyes and brought the attention back to his speech "The crowd is gonna love all of us,I guarantee it. But back to what I was saying,all of our work on the construction side is finally done and tomorrow we will begin rehearsals for our first show the next day. However I may not be here tomorrow,I'm gonna be using some of the extra money left over to pay for Rebecca's party at my place tomorrow night,so when you see her tommorow,tell her I'm sick. But in the meantime however,why don't y'all take some of this money and celebrate our first day of work at Joe's Cafe?"

"Absoutely Chuck,I am actually quite famished if I say so myself." Peppermint Patty happily agreed with the idea as Charlie Brown handed her the money after he put the funds for Rebecca's party in his pocket before Linus raised an eyebrow and asked out of slight confusion "You say that like you're not coming with us,are you not?" to which Charlie Brown shook his head and clarified while he put his winter jacket and hat on "Oh I'll catch up with you guys in a little bit,I'm just gonna go check on Rebecca and Ed first."

"Yeah and I better be heading home to my father,he does not like one to be late for supper. Good day everyone."James sighed and also declined to go with the gang to Joe's before he quickly headed outside and made his way for home so he wouldn't be late for dinner,leaving only the Peanuts gang remaining inside.

"Well,be careful out there Charles,it only gets colder and colder from here." Marcie sighed and obliged to let the boy go out and look for Rebecca and Ed before Lucy nodded her head and sternly added "Yeah cause we don't wanna have to drag you all the way back home in the middle of the night. I already have to do it once during Halloween." to which Charlie Brown chuckled and confidently reassured them that he would be safe "Don't worry everyone,I'll be fine,Rebecca said her construction area isn't even too far away from here."

It now seemed that the others were starting to get more comfortable with leaving Charlie Brown out here for a while as Freida cheerfully suggested to the others "Well suit yourself then,come on gang,let's go get ourselves some grub and head on home." before they all exited the now spotless theater and made their way back towards the tour bus with Joe's Cafe as their main destination.

"_Here's the world famous musical theater producer and his companions setting out for a nice and refreshing meal after a hard day's work." _Snoopy calmly thought to himself as he guided everyone onto the bus and into their seats before he sat down in the driver's seat,started the bus up and quickly made his way towards Joe's Cafe while Spike thought to Olaf,who was sitting right next to him in the seat behind the driver's _"I think our brother should write all these alter egos of his down." _to which the overweight beagle quietly replied _"I think he already has,it's just that he keeps making more and more up."_

* * *

Meanwhile in the middle of a small patch of woods away from the theater and slightly closer to the neighborhood,both Rebecca and Ed were slowly walking to some unknown destination in the glen,or at least Ed was since he had the task of getting there with a red blindfold covering his eyes while Rebecca merely held his hand and led him to this mystery place they were going to.

"Are you sure you can't just tell me where we're going? I'm worried I'll fall into a porcupine nest again,I still have nightmares about that and they still haven't forgiven me for it you know." Ed anxiously asked in a mixture of paranoia and excitement as he cautiously walked through the huge piles of snow that lay on the forest floor before Rebecca sweetly reassured him that he'd be fine "Don't worry Ed,I won't let you fall into a porcupine nest. Plus we're almost to the surprise."

"Almost there? I distinctly recall you saying that ten minutes ago-"

"Here we are!" Rebecca suddenly exclaimed in pure excitement as she let go of Ed's hand and took off his blindfold in a flash which resulted in the boy struggling to see for a few moments,but when he finally did regain his vision,what he would see would shake him to the core. Standing a few feet away from Rebecca and Ed was a small wooden cabin with a single window on the left and right side of it,a short set of stairs that led up to the front porch where a swing chair was hanging from the ceiling,and all topped off with multiple colored doghouses that each varied in size and shape.

Ed was left absolutely stunned and speechless due to what he was looking at and Rebecca was desperately trying to prevent herself from screaming her head off in excitement before Ed stammered out of shock "R-Rebecca,what is this?" to which the girl couldn't hold it back anymore and screamed out into the heavens while she tightly hugged her friend "Surprise! I made this just for you,it's a cabin for you and the rest of your crew whenever you come over! Isn't this great?!"

Ed on the other hand merely kept completely silent and continued to stare up ahead at the cabin in bewilderment,and Rebecca was quick to notice that he didn't look too excited for it and grew a look of weary as she let go of him and asked "Huh? Is….is something wrong?" to which Ed timidly asked in a soft tone of voice "Did you…...do all this for me?" before Rebecca developed a faint smile and clarified things for him "Yeah..I...I did. Granted I needed to get a few of the birds to help me but…...I spent every minute of free time I had today making this for you."

"But why…..why me?" Ed stammered in awe that Rebecca would even consider doing this for him at all to which the girl sighed and finally let out all her feeling for him "It's because I like you Ed. I really like you. When you I first met you at that orphanage,I felt something small awaken inside me,it was small granted,but it was still there. And the more time I spent with you during that trip and with you coming to get me out of that horrible and all,that feeling inside me just kept growing and growing,but when you had to leave after the carnival….that was when I felt a desire to be with you,and thus I started writing those letters just to talk to you. And when you came back after all that time and ended up having to sleep in the freezing cold every night in Monte Woods,it just made me want to give you a place where you,Herman and the rest of your crew can unwind,relax and…..be happy. I don't even mean it in the sense that you need to stay here for the rest of your life,but just whenever you come over. I….like you Ed."

Once again the forest was left in nothing but an eerie silence and Ed even more so since not even the sounds of his breathing could be heard,and Rebecca started to get the feeling that this was all for naught as she sighed and somberly whimpered while she begun to walk away from the boy and the cabin "Never mind Ed-"

"I've….wanted to hear those words for so long." Ed suddenly interrupted Rebecca's sulking in a happy yet shaky tone of voice as Rebecca's eyes widened out of shock and disbelief before she slowly turned around to see Ed looking at her with tear filled eyes and a huge grin on his face while he continued "To find out that a girl has these kind of feelings for me aside from my mum,I always thought I'd never get to experience that but…...thanks to you…..I finally can."

Ed then suddenly sprinted right towards Rebecca and gave her a nearly crushing hug as he gleefully remarked while he cried tears of joy "I love it Rebecca,I absolutely love it and….I love you too!" to which Rebecca grew the largest smile she could have possibly grown and cheerfully asked while she joined in on the hug "Really?! Oh I knew you'd love it!" before Ed happily cried out "Even when I have to leave one day Rebecca,I'll always be glad to call this place and Sparkyville my home! Thanks to you,and everyone else!"

Afterwards Ed and Rebecca began to happily laugh and cry at the same time as they both swung each other around amidst their hug for a few moments before they finally sat each other down and stared up ahead at the cabin while Rebecca asked "So,you want a tour of the place?" to which Ed nodded his head and cheerfully agreed "It would be an honor."

_**Rebecca: **__There's a place called home,I can practically see,with a red front door,and a roaring fire,and a Christmas tree. _

_Yes a place called home,full of love and family,and I'm there at the door watching you come home to me._

_**Ed: **__Through the years,I'll recall this day._

_**Both: **__In your arms,when I finally found my way-_

_**Rebecca: **__to a place called home,and a life for two._

_**Ed: **__You'll have everything you could ever want._

_**Rebecca: **__All I want is you._

_**Both: **__And a place called home. You and I will always be._

_**Rebecca: **__In the dark of the night,let your heart come home to me._

Unbeknownst to Ed and Rebecca however,while they were inside and looking around the cabin to see what it was like on the inside,Charlie Brown was watching their whole proposal carry out from a bush nearby and he was happily crying to himself at the sight of their coupleage,in fact it almost reminded him of him and a certain someone from a long time ago.

_**Charlie Brown: **__Through the years,I've recalled this day._

_**Rebecca And Ed: **__In your arms._

_**Charlie Brown: **__In your arms._

_**Everyone: **__When I finally found my way to a place called home. _

_**Rebecca And Ed: **__And a life with you._

_**Rebecca: **__Where the days are long._

_**Ed: **__And the love is strong._

_**Rebecca And Ed: **__And the dreams are true. _

_**Charlie Brown: **__And the dreams are true._

_**Rebecca And Ed: **__Just a place called home. You and I will always(always be)be._

_**Rebecca: **__In the dark of the night,let you heart come home to me._

_**Everyone: **__To the place in my heart,where you'll always come with me._

"**A Place Called Home" Copyright Of JAY Productions. Music By Alan Menken And Lynn Ahrens.**


	11. Chapter 11: Midnight Dancing

Chapter 11: Midnight Dancing

Rebecca and Ed were both sitting by a roaring fire in the living room of the cabin after going on a short tour of the place courtesy of the former,and to say that Ed loved the place would be the biggest understatement of the entire century. Not only did he now have a place that he could stay in whenever he would come over to Sparkyville for visits,but he no longer had to sleep in the freezing cold snow during winter nights,and that was a huge relief for the boy. Because even though he did prefer his wilderness survival lifestyle over a more traditional one in a normal house or neighborhood,he did have to admit that not everything was perfect,in fact some things were just downright frustrating for him to have to do in this kind of environment,but thanks to Rebecca,things would be a lot easier from now on.

"You know Rebecca,I think Herman and the crew are really gonna love this place." Ed happily remarked as he warmed himself along with some small acorns in a frying pan by the fire before Rebecca smiled and agreed while she used an air pump to keep the fire going "Yeah me too Ed,that's what all the doghouses,bird feeders and nests outside are for. I just hope they'll find someway to get along in such a small space." to which Ed chuckled and confidently reassured her that they'd be fine "Oh believe me when I say that they will,I mean one of our last hideouts was literally nothing but a small cave the size of a hamster wheel,and we got along just fine in there."

"Well,just don't be afraid to add more space in here if you need to. I'm always open to help you out with these kind of things." Rebecca sighed and politely offered Ed her help just in case he ever needed it as the boy merely shook his head and respectfully declined her help "Thanks Rebecca,but I don't think I'll be needing any kind of help. As long as I live and breath,these paws can build anything." before he took the frying pan out of the fire and sat it down on the ground next to him and Rebecca while he enthusiastically remarked "All right,these babies should be done by now."

The acorns inside the frying pan were now roasted to the point of them changing into a bright shade of golden brown as Ed carefully picked one of them out of the pan and offered it to Rebecca "Go on,try one. They're really good." before Rebecca cautiously took it out of his hand and asked out of curiosity "So have you made these before Ed? I've never seen you cook before." to which Ed scoffed and playfully retorted "Sure I have girl,the crew loves these things,especially Jannet and her two chipmunks."

Afterwards Rebecca slowly put the acorn in her mouth and immediately felt a huge burst of flavor envelope her as she grew a large smile and exclaimed while she began to chew it "Oh,this is great Ed! It tastes like honey,and is surprisingly soft and chewable too! How do you get it like this?" to which Ed got a little red in the face due to the compliment and meekly explained things to her "W-well the thing is,the fire really brings out the honey flavor deep inside it,and the heat also melts down the hardness on the outside and makes it chewable. Sort of like soft candy bites to make it easier to understand."

"Oh I get it Ed,I think Charlie Brown and the others would love these things. Why don't we head back to the theater and show them." Rebecca nodded her head and cheerfully suggested that they share the acorns with the rest of the gang as she quickly stood up and made her way towards the front door with the frying pan to which Ed instantly agreed with the idea while he got up,put out the fire and followed her "Oh you bet girl! Maybe then we could start selling them and use it as a way to make some extra money for the bank."

However as Rebecca opened the front door to the cabin and tried to make her way back to the theater,she would be suddenly startled and surprised when she saw what looked like Charlie Brown a few feet away from the stairs as she softly gasped and greeted him "Oh,hi Charlie Brown,we were just about to look for y'all." before Ed joined her side and happily greeted the round headed boy while he shut the door to the cabin "Well howdy there Chuck,what brings you all the way out here?"

"Well I was just looking for the two of y'all since none of us at the theater had seen you for a while." Charlie Brown calmly greeted the two of them and explained his reasoning for being out there as Rebecca got a little red in the face and nervously explained herself while she walked down the stairs and back into the snowy field "Oh I'm sorry Charlie Brown,it's just that I was showing Ed the place I built for him,you know the one we were talking about?" to which Ed quickly slid down the handrail on the stairs and happily added "Yep she sure was,this girl made this whole thing nearly all by herself,you like it?"

Charlie Brown was of course very impressed by the craftsmanship of Rebecca's cabin as he looked up at it and happily complimented it "It does look very nice Rebecca,you did a very good job with the construction. You like it Ed?" before Ed frantically nodded his head and confirmed that he did "Heck yeah I do boy! This place is gonna prevent me from turning into a snowman at night." to which Charlie Brown chuckled and retorted "Well it's good to know that you like the place,but anyway me and the others are gonna head off to Joe's for finally finishing up the theater,songs,costumes and props. Do y'all want to come?"

Rebecca and Ed stood there in mostly silence for a few moments since they were clearly thinking the offer over before Rebecca politely declined while she handed Charlie Brown the frying pan full of acorns "Uh,you guys just go on without me for the night,but why don't you and the others try these? They're really good." to which Charlie Brown looked down inside the pan,saw the golden brown acorns sitting down below and cautiously obliged "All right,we'll give them a try. I'm sure Snoopy will love them since he'll eat mostly anything. Are you coming Ed?

"Nah Chuck,you go on without us. I'm sure we'll find something else to do for the night." Ed shook his head and happily declined the offer to go out to Joe's as he softly pat Rebecca on the shoulder to which the girl smiled and looked up at the boy with glee while Charlie Brown cautiously bid them farewell for the evening "Well okay then,you two be careful out here. Marcie told me it only gets colder and colder from here. Also I may not be at rehearsal tomorrow,I got a little bit of a sore throat and may need to stay home,so Linus is likely gonna be in charge tomorrow." before Rebecca grew a look of concern and wished him the best while he begun to walk away "Oh no,well I hope you get better soon Charlie Brown."

"If you need me to come over and make you some of my famous healing soup,just say so!" Ed called out to Charlie Brown and offered him some assistance if he needed any as the boy merely declined the offer due to him actually not being sick at all "No thank you Ed! I'll be fine!" before he disappeared off into the slowly fogging up woods while the first bit of snow for the night began to fall,leaving only Rebecca and Ed behind at the cabin.

"So,it looks like rehearsal is tomorrow. I honestly hope I don't get a dancing role." Rebecca sighed and hoped in a shaky tone of voice as Ed raised an eyebrow and asked in slight confusion "What are you talking about? You're a great dancer,you know back in the caves with the leeries and crystals? You can't tell me that wasn't phenomenal dancing from you,or even any of the others." to which Rebecca merely scoffed and disagreed "What? My dancing is not phenomenal it's terrible,that was just the adrenaline kicking in,I honestly don't think I'm suited for a dancing role."

Afterwards Ed was left completely silent and he didn't seem to say or do anything for at least thirty seconds before he suddenly noticed that the blindfold that was around his eyes earlier was still on the ground,and that seemed to give him an idea as he grew an excited look on his face,pointed at the snow covered blindfold and politely requested "Put the blind fold on." to which Rebecca grew a look of confusion and questioned "Put on the blind fold? What's this about?"

"Just put it on,we're going to a…...surprise of my own." Ed enthusiastically persisted that Rebecca put on the blindfold as he picked it up out of the snow and cleaned it off to which Rebecca sighed and reluctantly obliged "Oh alright,but it's only because I like surprises." before she wrapped the blindfold around her head,and let Ed take her wherever they were going.

* * *

As Rebecca continued to follow Ed and let him guide her to this mysterious destination,the soft and cool feeling of the snow soon began to fade away into the hard roughness of concrete like that of a sidewalk or city road,and soon Rebecca would feel Ed's grip on her hand loosen which was followed by the sounds of very faint yet still audible lockpicking coming from the north,which just so happened to be the direction they were going as she asked out of curiosity "Ed are you trying to break into somewhere? Where exactly are we going?" only for the boy to decline to answer while he seemingly finished his lockpicking and opened up what sounded like a set of double doors "You'll see."

After about a few more minutes of them slowly walking through this mysterious new place they were in that seemed to be completely silent,Ed suddenly stopped dead in his tracks and let go of Rebecca's hand as she anxiously asked "Are….are we there yet?" to which the voice of Ed happily confirmed that they were while he slowly took off her blindfold "Yes we are."

After Rebecca's eyes managed to adjust themselves so they could fully see where they were,Rebecca would quickly be left in nothing short of a mixture of shock and confusion when she realized that they were standing in the middle of what looked like an average dance club,but what made things so confusing to her was the fact that absolutely no one was there,no music,no lights,no electricity,nothing. The only source of light that they could find was the light of the full moon shining rays through the windows at the very top of the ceiling,giving the dance floor and room in general a bright blue tint.

"Ed,what are we doing here? This place is closed at night,we can't be here!" Rebecca quietly and nervously whispered in fear that they could possibly get caught by guards or people like that,but Ed on the other hand showed no fear whatsoever and frantically tried to calm the girl down "Rebecca relax,I've been to this place plenty of times before,why back when I was still an orphan,me and some of the other kids would sneak out,come all the way over here and use this place as a nighttime hideout. We'll be fine,I promise. I brought you over here so we can practice some dancing for rehearsal tomorrow." to which Rebecca sighed and somberly tried to get out of it while she turned around and folded her arms "Ed,I know you want to try and help me,but I'm not a dancer….or at least not a good enough one to work in musical theater. I just think I'd be better off in a singing role because…..if I'm not a good enough dancer to impress the crowds,I could possibly mess everything up for us."

As a result of this,Ed stood there in complete silence and so did Rebecca,it was obvious that she was very uncomfortable with possibly dancing in front of a live audience,and who could honestly blame her? It was a very real and common fear that a lot of people had,and it was certainly one that many stage performers had likely experienced before,but Ed on the other hand was still determined to try and get her to overcome her fears and insecurities as he sighed and asked "Who needs a singing role? Dancing beats singing any day. It's the way your feet smile,or laugh,it lets you day so many things."

_**Ed: **__Dancing is a language that is felt instead of heard. _

_You can whisper,sing or shout without so much as a word. _

_Try it,go on,like so._

Afterwards Rebecca reluctantly started to slowly but surely move her feet and body as she turned around to see Ed lightly dancing as well.

_Just let your emotions tell your body what to do. _

_See how much a single gesture can reveal._

_ And every little step,every single step._

_Is one step closer to saying what you feel. _

Ed then held out his hand and kindly offered Rebecca a little bit of slow dance practice with him as the girl slowly grabbed his hand and begun to get some in.

_Once the music hits you inhibitions fall away._

_And you find that you're expressing things your voice daren't say. _

_Don't be afraid,let go._

However it was then that Ed would suddenly let go of Rebecca and try to get her to dance by herself,which instead resulted in her nearly falling down on the dance floor as she yelped in shock before Ed quickly caught her and continued to dance with her from there.

_Soon as you surrender what's inside will sweep on through._

_As the boundaries between us disapear. _

_And every little step,every single step._

_Is one step closer to talking loud and clear._

_A dance is like a conversation,except you never need to make a sound._

_ And once you've begun,you speak as one._

_Give and take,back and forth,round and round. _

"Ed I don't know what's happening here,but I feel like I'm getting it a little. Just a little." Rebecca happily remarked in a mixture of excitement and confusion as she continued to slow dance with Ed bedore the boy laughed and cheerfully corrected her "It's because you ARE getting it. You're really getting it actually."

"Really? Cause I sure don't feel like it." Rebecca chuckled and asked in disbelief that she was actually doing a good job at dancing to which Ed scoffed and retorted "Oh that is a straight up lie and you know it. In fact in order to prove that you're lying." before he let go of Rebecca,stepped back and politely "Why don't you try and dance the very best you can all by yourself. Go on,give it a try."

"Okay,I'll try." Rebecca nervously nodded her head and obliged to do so before she closed her eyes tightly and began to dance like she never had before with only her other senses,making Ed be left completely awestruck as he gasped and happily exclaimed "There you go girl! You're doing it! Woo-hoo!"

During the very next day at the theater,Rebecca was performing a solo dance rehearsal all by herself in the middle of the auditorium stage while Linus and the rest of the gang aside from Charlie Brown watched from the sidelines in awe,with Snoopy,his family and the birds having themselves some buckets of popcorn as well.

_A dance is like a conversation,except your lips don't ever need to part._

_ And once you've begun,you speak as one._

_Cheek to cheek,toe to toe,heart to heart. _

It was then however that time seemed to suddenly slow down for Ed as he happily starred ahead at Rebecca,who now seemed to be glowing and sparkling a bright yellow in the spotlight like that of an angel.

_Dancing is a language that is felt instead of heard._

_But it says much more than language ever could. _

_And every little step,every single step._

_Is one step closer,one step closer. _

_One step closer,to being understood._

Once time seemed to resume back to normal for Ed,Rebecca's dance rehearsal seemed to have been finished and the gang was very impressed with her dancing skills as they all applauded and cheered while Linus got out of the director's chair and happily complimented the girl "That was very good Rebecca,a very nice way to start off our day of rehearsal. I think you and Ed will do great in our opening act tomorrow night." to which the girl got a little red in the face and showed her gratitude "Thank you Linus,I think we will too. I just wish Charlie Brown could have been here to see me like this."

Rebecca and Ed however were blissfully unaware that Charlie Brown was back at his house and nearly working himself to death on Rebecca's birthday party that would be held that night.

"**One Step Closer." Copyright Of Walt Disney Records. Music By Alan Menken And Lyrics By Glenn Slater.**


	12. Chapter 12: Preparation Day

Chapter 12: Preparation Day

Now even though Charlie Brown was unable to properly monitor and oversee everyone's song and dance rehearsals at the theater for their first show that would be held the next night due to him being very busy at home with Rebecca's party,thankfully the day of rehearsal still went by very smoothly without any major problems at all thanks to Linus being put in charge of things in Charlie Brown's place. Not to mention that Snoopy and Lucy were seen by the rest of the gang as the unofficial co-directors since they ended up going around and doing Linus's job for him whenever he was on break,all under the guise of helping him out when really they just wanted the extra attention.

It was around high noon and everyone was continuing to practice their songs and dance routines in preparation for the big show which included Ed and Rebecca practicing their big song for the opening act along with the rest of the gang who were relegated to backup singers and dancers,and the same thing happened with Freida and her big song,with some extra help from Franklin since Charlie Brown wasn't there to practice in the second leading role. After about ten more minutes of practicing,Linus's attention would suddenly be diverted away from overlooking the rehearsals and over to the theater's phone back stage as he promptly excused himself and went over to answer the blaring phone.

"Sparkyville Community Theater,Linus Van Pelt speaking." Linus answered the phone and introduced himself in a calm and professional tone of voice before the voice of none other than Charlie Brown answered from the other end "Hey there Linus,it's me,how are things going with the rehearsals?" to which Linus perked up and cheerfully replied with a small smile "Oh it's just you Charlie Brown,actually things are going by very smoothly,it's honestly a little bit of a surprise. How are things going with the party planning?"

Charlie Brown then turned around and took a quick look at the cluttered mess that was his living room due to there being party declarations everywhere before he turned back around and nonchalantly retorted "I think Pig-Pen in a snowstorm would be less messy than what my house is right now. But at least I managed to bake the cake right." to which Linus grew a look of concern and asked "Do you need some of us to come over and help you? We've practically perfected our rehearsals and have nothing else left to do for the day."

"I suppose I could use a little bit of help. Yeah y'all can come over and help if you want to,just make sure that Rebecca doesn't find out about the party until the right time. In fact to be safe,I recommend you drop her off at her house first,and then come over here." Charlie Brown sighed and admitted that he could use some help with the party as Linus nodded his head and obliged to come over "All right,we'll be over in a little bit. I'll round everyone up" before he hung up,headed back to the middle of the stage and called out "Group meeting everyone! Group meeting!"

Instantly everyone stopped what they were doing and gathered round Linus as he cleared his throat and announced "I've noticed that you all have been doing a phenomenal job with your rehearsals,and I'm fairly confident that we'll rock everyone's socks off tomorrow AND during our second show. In fact to show my confidence in this prediction,I propose that we all take the rest of the day off." to which Lucy cheerfully laughed in agreement "You bet we should Linus,we've got this whole thing in the bag!" before Freida rolled her eyes and added "I suppose we could take a breather,we'll still have tomorrow morning and afternoon to practice."

"Anything to make sure I get the rest of the day off." Violet also agreed with Linus's idea to take the rest of the day off as Shermy shrugged his arms and showed mostly indifference to the prospect "Hey I'll do whatever y'all do." before Pig-Pen,Patty Swanson and Scheroder nodded their heads in agreement to which Rebecca happily showed her support "I'm with you Linus,we're definitely gonna make it big with the show tomorrow. Had to practice some dancing with Ed last night just to be extra safe."

"Wait,Ed's a dancer outside of the stage?" Peppermint Patty raised an eyebrow and asked in bewilderment that Ed had the slightest bit of dancing skills beyond his role as the boy patted Rebecca on the shoulder and smugly confirmed that he was "Yep I sure am Patty. Taught this girl some of my best moves last night." to which Linus chuckled and joked while they all started to make their way outside "You know Ed,you are the human incarnation of a mystery that continues to unfold. I think even Sherlock Holmes would have some trouble solving you."

"So Ed how did you learn to dance then?" Marcie brushed Linus's joke about Ed aside and asked out of curiosity as the boy placed his hand on his chin for a few moments and pondered "Well if my memory is correct,back when I used to live in the orphanage,I always had to take dancing classes with the rest of the kids. You see every couple months we'd hold a dance competition and the winner would receive fifty bucks to spend in the outside world. I never won any of them." before Pig-Pen suddenly perked up and enthusiastically remarked "Actually speaking of money,we still got a lot of it left,what should we do with it?"

"Charlie Brown told me we would likely add that towards our debt paying fund. Maybe we could do that?" Rebecca calmly answered and suggested that they add the rest of the money towards the debt they needed to pay as Peppermint Patty nodded her head and cheerfully agreed "Alright then,that's exactly what we'll do. It never hurts to try and plan ahead with these kind of things." before Patty Swanson enthusiastically added "And maybe we can make some of those lovely acorns that Charlie Brown brought us last night,sell some of those tomorrow and add that towards the fund too."

"Yep you see? We're gonna make so much bank off of this we'll still have plenty to spare when we're done." Lucy ecstatically agreed with the idea and relished in the possibly of having some money left over for themselves before Linus happily agreed with his sister while they made it outside and headed onto the bus "I don't say this very often,but Lucy is right,we'll have more than enough money to pay the bank along with James's percent,and we'll still have plenty to spare."

However before Snoopy started up the bus and took off for their neighborhood,Linus slowly walked up to the dog and politely whispered to him "Hey Snoopy,we need to make sure to take Rebecca home first,we need to head over to Charlie Brown's place to help him prepare for her party,and we can't let her find out about it now. Can you do that?" to which the beagle turned around in the driver's seat and saluted before Linus smiled and showed him his gratitude while he headed to his seat "Thanks,I'll see if Charlie Brown can reward you for this."

* * *

As part of Linus's little request for Snoopy,Rebecca was the very first one to make it back home since the beagle deliberately took a longer route that would allow them to make it to her house before anyone else's as the girl got out of her seat and bid everyone farewell for the day "Okay I'm off,see you all for the big day tomorrow!" before she exited the bus and headed inside her house,with her being unaware of what was going to unfold that very night.

"Alright everyone,now we can finally talk about the party!" Linus clasped his hands together and enthusiastically announced in relief now that Rebecca was gone to which Snoopy,Woodstock,Amy and the rest of his family cheered in excitement,while Ed on the other hand raised an eyebrow and replied in confusion "Huh? A party? No one told me anything about a party." to which Marcie sighed and explained it all to Ed while she cleaned her glasses "It's Rebecca's birthday today and Charles is holding a party for her tonight at his place. I'm actually starting to suspect that she's forgotten it's her birthday."

"Yeah and that's the reason I called off rehearsals for the rest of the day,so we could go over there and help him out. That's also why Snoopy took the longer route to make sure Rebecca got home first." Linus nodded his head and backed Marcie's statement up as Violet sighed and quietly murmured to herself "Well there goes my day off then." before Peppermint Patty happily continued "Not to mention that almost everyone we know is gonna be there,that girl's gonna love it,especially since she loves her some surprises."

"Well I'll be,I wish I could surprise her with something there myself." Ed chuckled and hopefully remarked as he leaned on the side of his bus seat window and glanced at some of the passing by buildings,but it was when they passed by what looked like a clothing store for special occasions that Ed suddenly got an idea in mind as he perked up and called out "Stop the bus!" to which Snoopy instantly pulled on the brakes and caused some of the others to nearly fly to the front window.

"Ed what in the world was that about?" A woozy and dumbfounded Linus asked in a mixture of confusion and nausea as Ed got out of his seat and promptly explained himself while he made his way over to the front door "I'll...catch up with you guys in a little bit,I got my own surprise planned for Rebecca. Lemme out please." before Snoopy opened the door and let Ed step on out.

"Are you sure Ed,it's still a little bit of a walk to our neighborhood from here?" Scheroder politely asked with a little bit of concern in his voice as Ed merely scoffed and retorted in disagreement "Little bit of a walk? Please I walked all the way down the Grand Canyon once." to which Linus sighed and reluctantly obliged to let him go "Alright then Ed,just try to hurry up if you can,the more help we have with the party the better." before Ed stepped on out of the bus and onto the sidewalk.

Once Snoopy started the bus back up and continued to make his way towards Charlie Brown's house,Ed turned around behind him and walked down the sidewalk for a few short moments before he finally came face to face with the clothing store they passed by,and it allowed him to get a better view of the place and see that it was called "Mendelson's Clothing Store. Get The Perfect Outfit For Any Occasion."


	13. Chapter 13: Planning Disaster

Chapter 13: Planning Disaster

Charlie Brown was continuing to set up the party for Rebecca by himself at his place of residence,and it was certainly proving to be a tough and grueling experience for the boy,for he had never had to do this kind of work all by himself before and it certainly showed in the way everything was set up at the moment. Most of the decorations that were on the ceiling and wall were not hammered in very well and were practically on the verge of falling off,the snack table was overloaded with food and looked like it could collapse any second if another table wasn't brought out,and the pile of presents that he bought Rebecca with some of the extra money that was left over was a complete mess. The only thing that Charlie Brown shockingly managed to get perfectly right was the birthday cake,which was a huge red velvet wedding cake with a small wax figurine of Rebecca at the very top of it,with the other parts of the cake being decorated with small frosting images of the things Rebecca liked most like puppies,cloud formations,music and more.

"Good grief,I could really use a nap right about now." An absolutely exhausted and messy Charlie Brown murmured out in a very groggy sounding voice as he slid right off the edge of his thinking chair in the living room and onto the glossy floor below where he ended up passing out and falling asleep before he was instantly reawoken when he heard knocking coming from his front door.

"Oh that must be Linus and the others. Thank the lord they're here." Charlie Brown yawned and moaned as he stretched out his arms and slowly stood up before he called out to the others outside in the hopes of them hearing him "I'll be there in a second everyone!" Speaking of the others by the way,Linus and the rest of the gang along with Snoopy's family were indeed at Charlie Brown's front door with the bus parked by the mailbox as Linus turned around to the others and calmly stated "I think Charlie Brown told me on the phone that his place is a mess,he sure sounded like HE was one too. I hope he's doing alright over here." to which Peppermint Patty shrugged her arms and confidently retorted "Oh come on Chuck's a tough boy,he's probably fine." before Lucy rolled her eyes and playfully disagreed "Well that sure hasn't stopped us from losing every baseball game we play."

"Hey everyone." The voice of Charlie Brown suddenly greeted them all in the same groggy tone of voice from before as Linus turned around and happily greeted him back "Hey we're here Charlie Br-WAHHHHHHHHH! What happened to you?!" to which Sally gasped and added in shock when she also noticed how messy and tired her brother looked "What have you been doing over here big brother?!" before the boy meekly joked at his own expense "Let's just say I shouldn't have tried to set up a birthday party all by myself. Come on in everyone."

* * *

As everyone followed Charlie Brown inside and were quickly subjected to the visual mess that was his house,they were all practically shocked to see him and his house he reduced to this kind of state as Marbles remarked in awe through his thoughts _"Wow,I don't think even the hay pile at the puppy farm got this messy." _before Peppermint Patty asked out of confusion "Chuck are you sure you didn't already have the party last night?" to which the boy shook his head and politely corrected her as he showed them the finished cake on the kitchen counter "No,I actually got the cake all ready. I'm surprised I managed to even do that without setting the whole house on fire."

"OOOOOOOOOOO!" Snoopy,Woodstock,Amy and his family exclaimed in awe at the mere sight of the finished cake as Violet took a look at it and couldn't help but give out a compliment "Well I have to admit,you did a pretty good job with the cake. Although you could have just as easily gotten an ice cream cake from Ace's,it would have saved you some trouble." before Marcie asked with a hint of worry in her voice "How long have you even been up Charles? You sound like you haven't gotten a wink of sleep."

Afterwards Charlie Brown opened up the trash can to reveal at least ten KCups worth of coffee and answered with a slight chuckle "Well seeing as how I got up when my parents got up to go to work,that's probably since 6:00 in the morning." to which the others gasped in shock that he got up that early before Freida added in bewilderment "Good grief you've been up this long and drinking that much coffee? We're still too young to be drinking that stuff. You need to sit down for a while."

"Yeah,I probably should." Charlie Brown nodded his head and meekly agreed with the girl's suggestion as he flopped down on his couch and quickly dozed off to rest his eyes before the snack table suddenly collapsed onto the ground due to all the weight on top of it to which Linus facepalmed and groaned "Oh I am so glad we actually did decide to come over. But how on earth are we gonna fix this place up before the party starts later on?"

"Maybe I could send the decorations back,get a refund and just have the party at Joe's?" Charlie Brown woozily suggested as he reopened his eyes and sat on up before Peppermint Patty scoffed and cheerfully disagreed "What? We don't need to do that,we just need to fix this place up like we fixed up the theater." to which Freida nodded her head and agreed "Yeah we still got some time left Charlie Brown. In fact my dad told me once that some nice music can relieve the stress someone has and make them feel happier,more uplifted and ready to work."

"Huh? What does that mean Freida?" Shermy raised an eyebrow and asked in slight confusion of what Freida was talking about to which the girl rolled her eyes and retorted while she pulled out a record from Charlie Brown's music drawer and put it in the record player "It means this,my dad says that this song's a real stress reliever." before Charlie Brown stood up from the couch and politely asked "But how in the world can a song be a stress-" only for the boy to suddenly stop his rambling when he heard very happy and cheerful music coming from the record player.

Instantly Charlie Brown started to feel all of the stress he was feeling be striped right out of him as he grew a dopey smile and happily remarked "I don't know if it's the caffeine from the coffee but,I'm feeling a lot better now." to which Freida got a smug look on her face and retorted "See? Stress reliever,come on gang,let's help fix this place up." to which they along with some of the other birds from outside started to help fix up the house.

_Such a feeling's coming over me. _

_There is wonder in most everything I see._

_Not a cloud in the sky,got the sun in my eyes and I won't be surprised if it's a dream._

_Everything I want the world to be. _

_Is now coming true especially for me._

_And the reason is clear,it's because you are here,you're__ the nearest thing to Heaven that I'll see._

_I'm on the top of the world looking,down on creation and the only explanation I can find._

_Is the love that I've found ever since you've been around,your __love's put me at the top of the world._

Meanwhile at Mendelson's clothing store downtown,Ed had since walked in and was trying out new sets of clothes for Rebecca's party,all the while Rebecca herself was lying down on her bed and gleefully picking the pedal's off a rose with lovestruck thoughts of Ed in her mind.

_Something in the wind has learned my name._

_And it's telling me that things are not the same._

_In the leaves on the trees and the touch of the breeze,there's __a pleasing sense of happiness for me._

_There is only one wish on my mind._

_When this day is through I hope that I will find._

_That tomorrow will be just the same for you and me,all __I need will be mine if you are here._

_**Peanuts Gang: **__I'm on the top of the world looking,down on creation and the only explanation I can find._

_Is the love that I've found ever since you've been around,your __love's put me at the top of the world. _

_I'm on the top of the world looking,down on creation and the only explanation I can find._

_Is the love that I've found ever since you've been around,your __love's put me at the top of the world._

"**Top Of The World." Copyright Of A&M Records. Written By Richard Carpenter And John Bettis.**


	14. Chapter 14: The Finishing Touches

Chapter 14: The Finishing Touches

(Special Guests Mentioned: Claudia And Krissie From LivingOnLaughs,and Rattler,Cobra And Joslyn From HPDrummerman.)

So while Charlie Brown,Linus and the rest of the gang were helping each other fix up the former's house for the party due to him accidentally turning it into a literal disaster,and while Ed was off at Mendelson's in the hopes of getting himself some new clothes,Rebecca was instead laying down on her bed and blissfully staring up at the ceiling with lovestruck thoughts of Ed enveloping her mind. Ever since Ed had expressed his true feelings for her the previous night AND had taken her to a dance club and taught her how to dance better for rehearsals along with all the previous time she had spent with him,she had effectively fallen in love with the boy and it was all she could have thought about when she had gotten home.

"Why Ed,you want me to marry you,and you want me to explore the wide open world with you on our honeymoon? This is all so...so sudden but,yes I will!" Rebecca acted out a potential marriage proposal from Ed in a gleefully over the top tone of voice and performance before she suddenly felt herself come back down to reality as her cheerfully bright smile slowly morphed into a somber frown while she murmured to herself "What are you even talking about Rebecca? You're not even eighteen years old yet,you can't be talking about your future life with another boy already." only for the same dreamy thoughts she had about the boy from earlier to suddenly creep back into her mind.

As a result of this Rebecca grew yet another dazed smile and tried to argue with herself about Ed and their possible future together as a couple "But on the other hand he's just so…...so charming,so sweet,kind,funny,and even kind of handsome. It does make me wonder what our lives would be like together." before she closed her eyes and began to have a blissful fantasy in her mind of Ed and her being married and going on their honeymoon across the world,all while they were still the same age too.

_So she said "What's the problem baby?" _

_What's the problem? I don't know well,maybe I'm in love. (Love) _

_Think about it every time I think about it,can't stop thinking 'bout it._

_How much longer will it take to cure this? _

_Just to cure it 'cause I can't ignore it if it's love. (Love.)_

_Makes me wanna turn around and face me but I don't know nothing 'bout love,ahhh._

_Come on,come on,turn a little faster._

_Come on,come on,the world will follow after._

_Come on,come on,because everybody's after love._

Sometime later Rebecca imagined herself babysitting and taking care of Charlie Brown's and Snoopy's puppies while he was at work.

_So I said "I'm a snowball runnin."_

_Runnin down into the spring that's comin' all this love._

_Meltin' under blue skies,beltin' out sunlight shimmerin' love._

_Well baby I surrender to the strawberry ice cream,never ever end to all this love._

_Well I didn't mean to do it,but there's no escapin' your love,ahhh._

Next Rebecca imagined herself and Ed gleefully running through a humongous sunflower field in the country side on a clear summer day.

_These lines of lightnin' mean we're never alone,never alone,no,no._

_Come on,come on,move a little closer._

_Come on,come on,I wanna here you whisper._

_Come on,come on,settle down inside my love. Ahhh._

_Come on,come on,jump a little higher._

_Come on,come on,if you feel a little lighter._

_Come,come on,you were once upon a time in love._

_We're accidentally in love. __Accidentally in love._

_Accidentally in love. __Accidentally in love._

_Accidentally in love. __Accidentally in love._

_Accidentally in love. __Accidentally in love._

_Accidentally. __I'm in love._

_I'm in love. __I'm in love._

_I'm in love. __I'm in love._

_I'm in love. __Accidentally._

_I'm in love. __I'm in love._

_I'm in love. __I'm in love._

_I'm in love. __I'm in love._

_Accidentally._

_Come on,come on,spin a little tighter._

_Come on,come on,and the world's a little brighter._

_Come on,come on,just get yourself inside her love._

_I'm in love._

* * *

It now seemed that Rebecca's fantasy about what her life could possibly be like with Ed had finally come to a close as she reopened her eyes and happily sighed to herself "What a life that would be. It's a shame I'll have to wait so long for it." before she suddenly perked up and was startled when she heard knocking come from her front door to which she stood up and asked herself in confusion "Who could that be? It's getting a little late to have visitors."

Once Rebecca straightened herself out and answered the front door to see who it was,she would instead be surprised and relieved when she saw that it was merely Marcie as she cheerfully greeted her friend "Hi there Marcie,what brings you over here?" to which the visitor cleared her throat and explained herself "Hi Rebecca,Charles gave me a call a while ago and he said that we need to come over to his place,it's for a very important meeting regarding the show tomorrow." bedore Rebecca raised an eyebrow and asked in slight confusion "Wait I thought Charlie said he was sick? That's why he had to stay home from rehearsals today didn't he?."

Marcie then started to feel herself tense up a little bit as a result of Rebecca possibly catching onto her lying,since the real reason she was here was just so she could pick up Rebecca and bring her over to Charlie Brown's place for the party as she nervously gulped and stammered in a slightly shaky voice "Well,uh,he said that he's been feeling a lot better ever since he took some medicine and that it's generally safe for us to come over for the meeting. So I think we should head on over to his place since Patty and Franklin went up ahead."

Now even though Rebecca was still a little bit suspicious that something else was going on behind the scenes,in the end she ultimately decided to cave in and go along with Marcie anyway as she grew a faint smile and obliged "All right,I'll be out in a second." before she quickly headed back inside to get herself ready,all the while Marcie gave a sigh of relief and thought to herself _"That was a close one Marcie,remember you gotta take her through the longer route just in case Charles isn't done with the preparations yet." _

"All right,let's go!" Rebecca suddenly suggested in an ecstatic tone of voice as she barged right out of her house with her winter jacket on before Marcie smiled and happily replied "Okay Rebecca,follow me,the traffic is getting pretty bad right about now so we have to take this different route. Is that alright with you?" to which Rebecca merely shrugged her arms and joked while she begun to follow Marcie "Hey as long as we make it there alive,I'm good."

"You know I have never actually asked you about this,but what do you truly think about Sparkyville? You know with you living here for almost half a year and all?" Marcie chuckled and asked out of curiosity as a way to pass the time to which Rebecca cheerfully answered "Oh it's easily the best place I've ever lived at,the sights,the food,the people,you guys,it honestly feels like a dream I keep on expecting to wake up from sometimes." before Marcie patted her on the shoulder and confidently reassured her "Well I can easily assure you that this is a not a dream you're having Rebecca,it's just how this place can be sometimes."

"Yep,this is indeed my life now,and I've been loving every second of it." Rebecca nodded her head and happily agreed with Marcie as they continued to make their way towards the Brown household.

_**Rebecca's Thoughts: **__This is life after happily ever after. _

_And it's all just as sweet as the stories say. _

_I feel wild,free,__as light as can be,and ready to explore. _

_With nothing at all standing in my way._

_True there are certain customs I have to follow. _

_**Marcie: **_"Look both ways."

_**Rebecca's Thoughts: **__Several small obligations I can't avoid._

_**Marcie: **_"Rebecca,the time."

_**Rebecca's Thoughts: **__A few rules too,well more than a few._

_Commitments by the score._

_Aside from all that though I'm overjoyed._

_**Marcie: **_"This way Rebecca."

_**Rebecca's Thoughts: **__And sure there are corsets and buckles and bows._

_Plus all those names to recall._

_**Rebecca: **_"Chloe?"

_**Marcie: **_"Claudia."

_**Rebecca: **_"Right!"

_**Rebecca's Thoughts: **__Still I can hardly complain I suppose._

_This is happily ever after after all._

"Alright Rebecca,how are you feeling about the meeting and all of this so far? These past few days sure have been a wild ride haven't they?" Marcie politely asked out of curiosity while they started to take the longer route Marcie was talking about earlier as Rebecca enthusiastically replied "Busy,but busy is good considering what this is all for." to which Marcie chuckled and enthusiastically remarked "Well I'm glad you think so too 'cause this meeting is only the beginning. Tomorrow's our second day of rehearsal,followed by the show that same night and that's all before our second/last show the following week. Also,I know you haven't been up on stage in front of a crowd before like most of us already have,but when you go up there,you REALLY have to make an effort to play the part." before Rebecca nodded her head and confidently retorted "Trust me Marcie,I'll do my best,I know how important this is to Charlie Brown and the rest of us."

Meanwhile back at the Brown's residence,the gang had certainly managed to fix up the complete mess that Charlie Brown had made and had properly set up the party as Linus authoriantanly announced to Lucy,Freida,Shermy,Violet,Snoopy and Woodstock in the kitchen where they were setting up some paper plates and plastic cups "Alright Cobra,Rattler,Josyln,Claudia and Krissie should be on their way right about now,and Marcie should be giving Rebecca the…..detour we asked for." before Charlie Brown suddenly walked in and cheerfully showed his gratitude nearly out of breath "Okay that's good,thanks for all your help everyone. We really managed to turn this place upside down…..in a good way at least,everything for Rebecca's first birthday here must be absoutely perfect,like that very first day she came back here." to which he had a flashback to that 4'th Of July fireworks show where she came back to Sparkyville for the first time.

_**Charlie Brown's Thoughts: **__And back then at last you were here in my arms._

_I won't permit you to fall._

_I must protect you from all the world's harms._

_We'll live happily every after after all._

"Big brother! The pizza just got here,what do we do with it?" The voice of Sally suddenly called out from the living room as she and Snoopy's family came walking into the kitchen with a huge stack of pizza boxes to which Charlie Brown snapped out of his daze and nervously suggested "Huh? Uh just-just set some of them on the snack table,but not ALL of them unless we just want to lose ourselves another table." before Peppermint Patty came waltzing by,shook her head and sternly asked when she saw that Charlie Brown was still in his messed up and filthy pair of clothes "Gee wiz Chuck,how do you expect yourself to be a good party host for everyone if you're looking like that? You might as well ask Pig-Pen to be the party host then."

"Hey I'm open!" Pig-Pen chuckled and jokingly retorted from the living room when he happened to overhear Patty's sny remark as Charlie Brown looked down at his clothes and timidly agreed while he and the others walked into the living room "Yeah I suppose I could go ahead and freshen up with me looking like this,but speaking of clothes,I still have to wonder what's taking Ed so long at that place downtown." before Ed suddenly burst right through the front door with a white tuxedo and top hat on,much to the shock of everyone.

_**Ed: **__Hoo-hoo-hoo Chuck my man,this hat ties the whole outfit together!_

_Now I know what you are all thinking,why is Ed in such a good mood today? __I mean what gives?_

_Now that we're living splendidly. __Our dreams fulfilled extendedly._

_Why leave things open endedly for Rebecca and mwah?_

_Tonight I'll hand this rose to her,kneel down and then propose to her,and give this ring I chose to her. Nice._

"Woah!" Everyone in the living room including Snoopy,his family,Woodstock,Amy and Jasper exclaimed in sheer awe of the craftsmanship of Ed's new gold ring when he showed it off in a blue box.

_Life's gonna be like strawberry sherbet,once she is Mrs's Edward Fitzherbert._

_Okay not great last name but how about this?_

_Once she is Princess Edward Fitzherbert! _

_And what better day to propose to a girl than at her birthday party?_

_**Everyone: **__This is life after happily ever after._

_And our story has finally reached it's end._

_**Charlie Brown: **__Settling down here._

_**Lucy: **__Year upon year._

_**Franklin: **__Contempted and secure._

_**Sally: **__With dozens of duties we'll have to tend._

_**Everyone: **__And now that we've gotten the dream that we've chose._

_Now that we're in for the haul._

_Soon our adventures can come to a close._

_Living happily ever after after all._

However as Marcie and Rebecca continued to make their way towards Charlie Brown's house for the "meeting",the latter's attention would suddenly be diverted over to a small house on the right side of the neighborhood where a family of four was appearing to be moving out,with a possible reason why being the white sign nailed into the yard that read "Notice Of Repossession By The Bank Of Sparkyville."

As a result of seeing this,Rebecca started to have thoughts of them possibly not being able to pay the bank back in time creep into her mind despite all of the overwhelming evidence that they would as she grew a somber look on her face and slowly waved the family goodbye while they passed by her in their car.

_**Rebecca: **__Now that I've gotten,the dream that I've chose._

_Why does my world feel so small?_

_If this is it,and it is,I suppose._

_Is this happily ever after,after all?_

Marcie eventually noticed that Rebecca wasn't following her anymore and grew a slight look of confusion as she turned around to see her friend staring at the now empty house that once sheltered a family before she walked up to her and meekly tried to comfort her "Rebecca,I know you're a little worried about the bank taking our homes away,but we got this. I know that we'll manage to pay them back on time,I guarantee it."

Rebecca thanks to Marcie's words of wisdom and encouragement now started to grow a little bit of an uplifted smile as she sighed and timidly agreed with the girl while they continued to head towards the Brown's residence 'Yeah,you're right Marcie,it's just that I didn't want to have to see that family lose their home like that. It's not right." before Marcie looked back at the house for a brief moment and tried to look on the bright side of things "Well maybe when we pay off the bank,their house will no longer be in repossession and they'll be able to come back." to which Rebecca's smile grew a little wider and she couldn't help but agree yet again "Maybe. I hope. It's mainly up to us now to fix all this,and I know we will."

"**Accidentally In Love." Copyright Of Geffen Records. Written By Adam Duritz,Dan Vickery,David Bryson,Matt Maloney,and David Immergluck. Sung By Counting Crows.**

"**Life After Happily Ever After." Copyright Of Walt Disney Records. Written By Alan Menken and Glenn Slater.**


	15. Chapter 15: Birthday Bash

Chapter 15: Birthday Bash

(Special Guests: Claudia And Krissie From LivingOnLaughs,and Rattler,Cobra and Joslyin From HPDrummerman.)

It was around 7:30 in the evening and the sun had almost completely set and placed all of Sparkyville under a blanket of darkness for the night,keyword almost since there was still a little bit of light left in the sky and the snow was left with a slightly purplish tint while the clouds up above were very light pink. Rebecca and Marcie had finally made it over to Charlie Brown's neighborhood and were both walking down the sidewalk that led to his house,and the former had actually decided to tell the latter about her feelings for Ed which resulted in a very interesting conversation.

"I'm very happy that you and Ed have come together Rebecca,I guess it is true that there's someone out there for everyone. Does anyone else know?" Marcie happily congratulated Rebecca and Ed for practically coming together at this point as Rebecca smiled and cheerfully replied "Thanks Marcie,I knew there was something growing between the two of us when we were out there in those woods and when he helped me get out of that place. So far only Charlie Brown knows about it and I'm thinking of maybe telling everyone tonight at the meeting."

"Well you better start preparing your speech then,because here we are." Marcie chuckled and jokingly suggested when they had finally made it to the Brown's household as Rebecca took a deep breath and nervously told herself as they walked up to the front door "Alright,just tell them,and don't get too wishy-washy about it. This is gonna go perfectly fine." before she took another deep breath and knocked on the front door to which the voice of Charlie Brown instantly responded from behind "It's open! Come on in!"

However as Rebecca opened the front door and stepped on inside the house along with Marcie,she would be left in a slight state of confusion when she saw that all the lights were turned off and that the house was filled with nothing but a dead and lifeless silence as she politely called put "Uh,guys the lights are off,where are y'all?" before the lights suddenly turned right back on to reveal almost everyone Rebecca had known in Sparkyville with party hats on which included former Serpent Sister members Rattler and Cobra,along with three of the gang's other friends Joslyin,Claudia Grandin,and her older sister Krissie while they all shouted at the top of their lungs "SURPRISE! HAPPY BIRTHDAY REBECCA!"

Rebecca was left in a state filled with nothing short of awe,shock and confusion,she had completely forgotten that it was her birthday today due to her being so focused on the rehearsals and the show tomorrow as she grew a wide smile and stammered in bewilderment "I-it was my birthday today? Good grief I knew there was something else going on over here!" before Snoopy,Amy,Woodstock and Jasper ran up to her and blew a barrage of party horns right in her face to which she laughed and showed her gratitude for the party "You guys did all this for me? Thank you all so much,you're all seriously the best."

Charlie Brown as a result of this started to get bright red in the face as he slowly walked up to Rebecca and happily tried to brush it all off while he held a small box behind his back "Hey it was the very least we could do during all….this. We wanted to make sure that your first birthday here in Sparkyville would be the best it could be. Happy birthday Rebecca." before he handed the girl the box and cheerfully requested "Open it,it's a present for you."

Once Rebecca opened the small purple box that Charlie Brown had given her,she immediately felt another huge wave of cheerful emotions overwhelm her when she saw what was inside it as she picked the item up and remarked with a tear in her eye "T-this,this is the group photo we all took on our trip to France in front of the Chateau. I-I thought I lost it at the airport. You found it and put it in a picture frame?!" to which Charlie Brown chuckled and meekly explained himself "Yeah,it turns out it just got lost in some of our luggage and I accidentally found it while setting this place up. I thought you'd like it back to put in on your wall." before Rebecca suddenly dropped the box on the ground and gave the boy a crushing hug.

"I love it. Thank you." Rebecca timidly thanked the boy for his gift to her to which he blushed even more intensely than before as he joined in on the hug and enthusiastically replied while the crowd members "awed" at the display "Hey you honestly deserve something like this after all you've been through. And I can assure you that there are a lot more surprises in store for you tonight." before he suddenly let go of Rebecca and shouted "Hit it girls!"

* * *

Immediately afterwards,Spike shined a bright spotlight on a small sound stage in the middle of the living room as Freida,Lucy,Violet,Patty Swanson,Sally,Peppermint Patty and Marcie stepped up on the stage with microphones in hand to which Rebecca gasped and asked in awe while the crowd started to cheer "What did you do THIS time?" before Charlie Brown laughed and retorted while Scheroder started playing music on the DJ system on the stage "Last night I personally asked Snoopy to write a special song for you."

"Okay girls,let's get these vocal chops going!" Lucy happily suggested to the others as the rest of the girls nodded their heads in agreement and started to perform their special song for Rebecca while some of the crowd members began to dance with each other,all the while Ed was at the top of the stairs and preparing himself for his proposal to Rebecca.

_**Freida: **__I was always searching for a reason._

_**Lucy: **__Never knew the taste of freedom._

_**Sally: **__I knew that there was something more._

_**Patty Swanson: **Than just what I was seeing._

_**Marcie: **__But it was so hard to believe it._

_**Girls: **__Then somehow you brought out a strength that was deep down,let __it out._

_Now I got my eyes opening wide. __My heart burning like fire._

_Feels like I'm so alive. __I'm never going back._

_Whatever I want now,I'm gonna chase it._

_Who I am,I can't contain it. __I'm not gonna hold it in._

'_Cause there's more of me to give._

_Oh-oh-oh,oh-oh-oh,oh-oh._

_More of me to give._

_Oh-oh-oh,oh-oh-oh,oh-oh-oh._

Suddenly Snoopy,Andy,Olaf,Spike,Marbles and Belle jumped up on the stage and started dancing with the rest of the girls.

_**Violet: **__I can feel the sunlight shining through me._

_**Peppermint Patty: **__There's a beautiful world under my feet._

_**Patty Swanson: **__It's all mine,it's time to soak it up._

_**Freida: **__Full speed,can't keep it bottled up._

_**Lucy: **__Feel my spirit,let it run wild._

_**Girls: **__'Cause somehow you brought out a strength that was deep down,let__ it out._

_Now I got my eyes opening wide. __And my heart burning like fire._

_Feels like I'm so alive. __I'm never going back._

_Whatever I want now,I'm gonna chase it._

_Who I am,I can't contain it. __I'm not gonna hold it in._

'_Cause there's more of me to give._

_Oh-oh-oh,oh-oh-oh._

_**Peppermint Patty: **There's more of me to give._

_**Girls: **Oh-oh-oh._

_Oh yeah._

_There's no limit we could be._

_Everything we're meant to be._

_I'm seeing it all through different eyes._

_For the first time,larger than life._

_**Freida: **__Now I got my eyes opening wider._

_My heart burning like fire,yeah._

_**Girls And Crowd: **__Now I got my eyes opening wider. __My heart burning like fire._

_Feels like I'm so alive. __I'm never going back._

_Whatever I want now,I'm gonna chase it._

_Who I am,I can't contain it. __I'm not gonna hold it in._

'_Cause there's more of me to give._

_Oh-oh-oh,oh-oh-oh,oh-oh-oh._

_More of me to give._

_Oh-oh-oh,oh-oh-oh,oh-oh-oh._

_There's more of me to give._

As Freida and the rest of the girl's song came to a close,the crowd of guests burst out into a raving round of applause as the girls along with the beagles bowed down and jumped off the stage and back into the crowd,all the while Rebecca hugged Charlie Brown tightly and thanked him yet again "Wow that was amazing,thank you Charlie!" before she and the boy turned around when they heard Snoopy suddenly clear his throat right from behind.

"Oh and of course you too Snoopy,you're an A list song writer,I know it!" Rebecca chuckled and cheerfully thanked the dog for writing the song with a hug of her own which resulted in the beagle turning bright red in the face as Charlie Brown rolled his eyes and moaned with a smile "Oh good grief." before he continued much louder amidst all the music "So feel free to help yourself Rebecca,there's plenty of root beer,pizza and all that sort of stuff. Just feel feel to have fun tonight."

Rebecca let go of Snoopy and nodded her head in agreement as she happily obliged "All right,but uh,have you seen Ed around here? I want to tell Linus and the others about what's been going on with the two of us,and I thought that tonight would be the best place to do so." before the voice of Ed suddenly responded from what sounded like the top of the stairs "You don't even have to ask for that babe." to which Scheroder stopped the music,Spike shined the spotlight up at the top of the stairs and everyone redirected their attention over to there.

* * *

As it was to be expected,Ed was indeed standing at the top of the stairs in his new,fancy set of clothes with a microphone of his own in hand as he announced while he walked down into the living room and towards Rebecca "Ladies and gentlemen,boys and girls,children of all ages. I have come before all of you tonight for a very important proposition to a very special girl." before the girl in question stammered in awe of what he was wearing "Ed? W-where did you get those clothes?" to which the boy chuckled and replied when he reached her location "Only the best clothing store in Sparkyville,or at least that's what they say on the front of the building. But that's beside the point,Rebecca,I have something very important I want to ask you."

Ed then proceeded to get down on his knees as he pulled out and slowly opened the box that contained his newly bought gold ring before he lovingly proposed to the girl of his dreams "Rebecca Marie Henderson,will you do me,Edward Jonathon Fitzherbert,the honor of making me the happiest boy in the world by becoming…..my girlfriend?" to which everyone else in the house gasped in awe and shock while Rebecca slowly grew a large smile and stammered "Ed…...I….yes. Oh yes,I will be your girlfriend!"

"R-really?! Y-you will?! Ed stuttered and asked in complete shock that Rebecca actually said yes to his proposal as he jumped high up in the air and shouted "Woo-hoo! Take that Johnny,I told you I'd get one someday!" before he quickly took out the gold ring and slid it right onto Rebecca's second to last finger to which everyone in the living room gave a huge round of applause for the new couple. Snoopy and his family "awed" at the mere sight of the proposal and Woodstock and Amy gave each other a loving hug as well,while Sally on the other hand suddenly got up close to Linus and asked amidst his clapping "You know speaking of proposals,is there room for a second one tonight sweetie?" to which the boy gagged in disgust and ran off into the crowd.

"Wow,I never thought that Ed of all people would find himself a girl who likes him the way he is. I'd tell him to ditch the hillbilly look at the very first sight of him." Violet remarked in awe that Ed had finally gotten himself a girlfriend despite his odd and peculiar nature as Patty Swanson nodded her head and added equally as dumbfounded "Yeah me too Violet,but it is true that everyone is deserving of some kind of love,even Charlie Brown does too."

"Well I just hope that Rebecca is okay with long distance relationships if Ed's traveling habits are any indication." Shermy chuckled and jokingly remarked when he overheard Violet and Patty's conversation before Lucy suddenly joined in as well and agreed "Yeah me too,I don't want most of my earnings from my therapy booth to come from someone in a relationship drama,I don't think even I'm qualified enough for that kind of work yet."

Meanwhile Rebecca and Ed were locked in a seemingly permanent hug together on the dance floor while everyone else merely continued to party and dance around them as the former raised an eyebrow and asked out of curiosity "So Ed,how did you manage to afford all this? The suit,the hat,the ring? It must have cost you a fortune." to which the latter nodded his head and confirmed that it did with a smile "Oh it sure did sweetie,but let's just say that Pappa Duffy came through for me."

Instantly that was a dead giveaway to Rebecca about how Ed paid for his clothes and the ring as she gasped and exclaimed while she let go of the boy "Wait y-you sold your gold tooth to pay for all this?! Haven't you had that for most of your life?" to which Ed regretfully sighed and confirmed that he did "Yeah but,I found out at the store that the gold around the tooth is worth a lot of money,so I sold it to them and used the money to get all this. Are you upset with me?" before Rebecca smiled once again and cooed "Oh Ed,you sold your most prized possession in the world for me? That was really sweet of you babe,you were really brave to do something like that."

Afterwards Ed's confused and nervous frown quickly morphed back into a smile as he chuckled and replied "Yeah,I just wanted to spice myself up for the party and for the proposal. Besides,I still got some money left over from selling the tooth,you maybe wanna go out somewhere when we're done here?" to which Rebecca nodded her head and happily agreed "You know,I would actually like that very much sweetie. Thank you." while Ed laughed and cheerfully suggested with an evil grin "Alrighty then it's settled,but in the meantime,let's say we have ourselves a birthday party?" to which Rebecca frantically nodded her head with a serious game face and then proceeded to truly celebrate her birthday with all the others. Soon she finally managed to open up all her gifts and absolutely loved every one of them,helped Snoopy and Marbles cut the birthday cake just right,partook in a root beer drinking contest that Olaf ended up winning and cleaned house at,and all and all just had a wonderful night out with her closest friends in celebration of the day that she was born.

_For once in my life,I have someone who needs me._

_Someone I needed so long._

_For once unafraid,I can go where life leads me._

_Somehow I know I'll be strong._

_For once I can touch,what my heart used to dream of,long before I knew._

_Ohhhhhh someone warm like you,would make my dream come true._

_Yeah,yeah,yeah._

_For once in my life,I won't let sorrow hurt me._

_Not like it's hurt me before._

_(Not like it's hurt before.)_

_For once,I have something I know won't desert me._

_I'm not alone anymore._

_(I'm not alone anymore.)_

_For once I can say,this is mine,you can't take it._

_Long as I know I have love,I can make it._

_For once in my life,I have someone who needs me._

_(Someone who needs me.)_

_Aye-hey-hey-hey-yeah._

_(Someone who needs me.)_

_Oh baby,love,baby._

Sometime later,Snoopy and his family decided to bring out their instruments and start playing some music themselves when the DJ system accidentally shorted out,only for Ed to end up joining them and playing the harmonica while everyone continued to dance and party around.

_(For once in my life.)_

_For once in my life,(for once in my life),I won't let sorrow hurt me._

_Not like it's hurt me before._

_(Not like it's hurt before.)_

_For once I have something,I know won't desert me._

_I'm not alone anymore._

_(I'm not alone anymore.)_

_For once I can say,this is mine,you can't take it._

_Long as I know I have love,I can make it._

_For once in my life,I have someone who needs me._

_(Someone who needs me.)_

_Oh,for once in my life._

_(Someone who needs me.)_

_Yeah,somebody that needs me._

_(Someone who needs me.)_

_Oh baby,for once in my life._

"**More Of Me." Copyright Of Walt Disney Records. Written By Andy Dodd and Dewain Whitmore JR.**

"**For Once In My Life." Copyright Of UMG Recordings. Written By Orlando Murden and Ron Miller. Performed By Stevie Wonder.**


	16. Chapter 16: Of Romance And Bar Binging

Chapter 16: Of Romance And Bar Binging.

Rebecca's first birthday in Sparkyville was definitely one for her to remember for the rest of her life,not only was there a shocking surprise party thrown for her by Charlie Brown,not only did Snoopy write her a very special song that Freida and the rest of the girls performed on stage,and not only did she rediscover an important photo of hers that she thought she had lost in France,but she and Ed had finally come together and officially become a couple. It was around 9:00 PM and the party had long since come to a satisfying close,most of the guests had already taken their leave of the place and headed back home for the night,with the only ones staying behind to help clean up the house being Lucy,Linus,Violet,Peppermint Patty,Marcie,Rebecca,Ed,Snoopy,his family,Woodstock,and Amy.

"You know,you sure know how to throw a good party Chuck. I haven't had a fun night out like this in a long time." Peppermint Patty enthusiastically remarked with glee as she put the now empty pizza boxes in a garbage bag before Violet couldn't help but agree with the tomboy while she got on a ladder and helped take down the decorations off the walls and ceilings with Lucy "I actually have to agree with you,I had an absolute blast tonight and it's not even New Years yet."

"Well I can assure you that I've done all the partying I can handle for one holiday season. So don't be shocked if I don't come over to the New Years party." Linus chuckled and playfully agreed with Violet while he put a small piece of cake in a ziplock bag for Rerun before his sister merely shrugged her arms and nonchalantly retorted "All right then,I'll just bring Rerun along instead,it's about time we let him go to a New Years party. We just gotta keep him away from the champagne."

"Uh,Lucy,we're too young to be drinking champagne,I think we just labeled the root beer bottles that so we'd feel more grown up." Marcie raised an eyebrow and corrected Lucy on her little mistake as she cleaned off the snack table to which the latter perked up and replied a little awestruck herself "Hmm,I knew that stuff tasted oddly familiar." before Sally suddenly noticed that the soundstage and DJ were completely gone and brought it up in confusion "Hey,where'd the soundstage and DJ go?"

Immediately afterwards the gang's attention would be diverted over to the backyard when they heard what sounded like a huge ruckus going on outside as they all headed out to the backyard to see Snoopy and his family shoving both the soundstage and DJ system into his doghouse all at once,but what was even stranger than the sight of six beagles trying to shove such a large item into a small doghouse,was that after a few more moments the thing slid right inside the opening like it was nothing.

"Sometimes I have to wonder if that doghouse is enchanted." Charlie Brown rolled his eyes and meekly asked in awe of the display as the six beagles came strolling back into the house like nothing had happened at all before Ed stretched out his arms and yawned "Well,I don't know about the rest of you fellers,but I think I'm gonna head on home for the night." to which Charlie Brown lightly nodded his head and obliged "Alright that's fine,you can all go actually,I can handle the rest."

"Are you sure Charlie Brown? We don't need your house looking like a train wreck again." Linus raised an eyebrow and asked just to be sure if Charlie could finish the place up by himself as the boy nodded his head and confidently reassured him "I'll be fine Linus,believe me when I say that I'll do a better job with cleaning rather than setting up." to which Lucy yawned and instantly excused herself while she headed out the front door "Well I think it's time I finally take a nap then,I gotta get my beauty sleep for the big show tomorrow."

"Make sure to bring your A game tomorrow Chuck." Peppermint Patty sternly requested as she and Violet followed Lucy outside before Marcie added while she also headed outside "Good luck in the show everyone,we'll need it." to which Linus lastly encouraged Charlie Brown and Sally before he headed home as well "Remember we have all day tomorrow to practice,don't be afraid to speak up if you need to."

* * *

Now that almost everyone had left,all the guests that remained in the Brown household were Rebecca and Ed as the former turned towards the man of the house and once again showed her gratitude for the party "Thanks again for the party Charlie Brown,I really had a good time tonight." before Ed nodded his head and agreed "Yeah as long as you improve your ability to multitask,you can easily make this your career choice when you grow up." to which Charlie Brown smiled and retorted while the couple headed out the front door "Hey it's really nothing you two,see y'all in the morning."

"You too Charlie Brown!" Rebecca called out and bid Charlie Brown farewell one last time before she and Ed started to make their way back home,leaving only Charlie Brown,Sally,Snoopy,his family,Woodstock and Amy left behind as the boy's sister stretched out her arms and bid her brother good night "Well I'm heading off to bed big brother,you really did a good job with the party tonight. Maybe when my birthday comes around,we can do it again." to which the boy chuckled and jokingly obliged " Sure thing Sally,good night."

Once Sally left the living room and headed off to sleep for the night,Charlie Brown walked up to Snoopy and happily thanked him and the rest of the animals for their help with the party "Thanks a lot for your help everyone,I think Rebecca really liked that song you wrote for her Snoopy." before he turned around and picked up a small piggy bank off the living room coffee table and continued "In fact to show my appreciation for the help,here's all of my allowance that I've been saving recently. I haven't really been saving it up for anything in particular so I was thinking that you should have it." to which Snoopy grew a large smile,took the piggy bank and happily licked his owner from top to bottom in one feel swoop.

"No problem buddy." Charlie Brown lightly laughed and brushed his little gift for Snoopy aside like it was nothing while he lovingly patted his dog on the head before he continued "Well if you need something to spend it on,I heard the bar you often go to downtown is having an all you drink root beer-" only for him to be swiftly cut off when Snoopy suddenly revved up like a motorcycle and sprinted out of the house and onto the bus at near lighting speed.

"Buffet." Charlie Brown meekly concluded what he was trying to say in a sarcastically surprised tone of voice as Andy sighed and suggested to the others through his thoughts _"I think we should probably go with him,I'm predicting that one of us will probably need to drive tomorrow." _before they and Woodsock reluctantly followed their brother onto the bus and headed off to the bar,with Amy merely deciding to stay behind and head off to bed instead.

* * *

Meanwhile at least a good mile away from the Brown residence,Rebecca and Ed were blissfully walking down the sidewalk and heading back home to their side of the neighborhood as little bits of snow were slowly falling down from the sky. Rebecca was happily leaning on Ed's right arm and shoulder while Ed wrapped his arm around her body in an attempt to keep her warm from the nighttime cold even though they both had winter jackets on.

_**Rebecca: **__Kiss me too fiercely,hold me too tight._

_I need help believing,you're with me tonight._

_My wildest dreamings,could not foresee._

_Being beside you,with you wanting me._

_Just for this moment,as long as you're mine._

_I've lost all resistance,and crossed some borderline._

_And if it turns out,it's over too fast._

_I'll make every last moment last,as long as you're mine._

_**Ed: **__Maybe I'm brainless,maybe I'm wise._

_But you've got me seeing,through different eyes._

_Somehow I've fallen,under your spell._

_And somehow I'm feeling,it's up that I fell._

_**Both: **__Every moment,as long as you're mine._

_I'll wake up my body,and make up for lost time._

_**Ed: **__Say there's no future for us as a pair._

_**Both: **__And though,I may know,I don't care._

_Just for this moment,as long as you're mine._

_Come be how you want to,and see how bright we shine._

_Borrow the moonlight,until it is through._

_And know I'll be here holding you._

_As long as you're mine!_

Once Rebecca had made it to the front door of her house and was about to head on inside,she suddenly stopped dead in her tracks and did nothing at all as Ed asked in confusion from behind "What is it?" to which the girl slowly turned around and replied "It's just,for the first time,my life feels…..perfect." before she ran towards him and gave him a hug that he quickly joined in on.

"Good night Ed,and thanks for everything." Rebecca happily bid Ed farewell for the night to which he enthusiastically did the same to her while he patted her on the back "Same to you Rebecca,I think you should go ahead and get some rest,we got ourselves a big day tomorrow." before Rebecca suddenly let go and gave him a kiss on the cheek which resulted in him turning bright red in the face while she nonchalantly headed inside her house like nothing had ever happened.

* * *

Meanwhile in the middle of a mostly empty and quiet bar in the downtown area of Sparkyville,Snoopy and Woodstock were both sitting at a two person table,chugging down multiple mugs of root beer and listening to some old WW2 era music through the public jukebox inside,all the while Spike,Olaf,Andy,Marbles and Belle sat in a booth across the room with mugs of their own,but not nearly as many as what their brother and his friend had been having.

"_You know Woodstock,sometimes I have to wonder…..are we truly deserving of root beer? It's such a lovely and enticing drink that I think is quite heavenly,perhaps too heavenly even." _Snoopy asked Woodstock through his thoughts in a very woozy and drunk sounding voice as the bird merely fluttered around on the table in a daze and retorted honestly unsure _"I honestly have no idea,maybe we should ask it and see what it thinks." _before he tapped on his still full mug of root beer and asked it _"Hey root beer,are we deserving of you?" _only for the bird of course to receive no answer.

"_There goes our brother again on another root beer overdose." _Marbles sighed and timidly remarked as he took a big swig of his drink before Olaf licked the lingering bit of foam off his mouth and jokingly replied _"If some people have drug addictions,then our brother has root beer addiction,but I can't say that I really blame him however." _ to which Spike pondered in curiosity while he looked at one of the hanging TV's where a football game was going on _"You know I'm starting to wonder if his owner gave him all that money just so he'd be out of his hair,or lack of it for a while."_

"_Well if that really is the reason he did it,it sure is working since we've been here for almost an hour." _Belle rolled her eyes and murmured with a hint of boredom in her voice as she looked at the nearby clock to see that it was almost 10:00 PM before Marbles groaned and added when he saw his brother be handed yet another mug of root beer _"And it looks like we'll be here for two."_

"_Why are you still not giving me a straight answer,what'd I'd ever do to you?" _Woodstock angrily asked in bewilderment that his mug of root beer still hadn't answered his question yet before he suddenly felt himself slip on a droplet of water on the table due to all the condensation coming from the mug and nearly ended up falling off the table as he yelped in shock,only for Snoopy to quickly catch him at the nick of time in his paws while he asked in a panic _"Whoa there buddy,you alright?"_

"_Aww thanks buddy,you're my best buddy,buddy." _Woodstock laughed and happily thanked Snoopy for catching him as he flew off his paws and back onto the table before the dog scoffed and cheerfully disagreed _"No you're my best buddy,buddy."_

_**Snoopy: **__If you're feeling jumpy,lost or low,I hope you know I'm here._

_**Woodstock: **__Life's a little bumpy,call me bro,I'll always lend an ear._

_**Snoopy: **__Oh you mean literally!_

_**Both: **__Buddy! You're my best buddy!_

_**Snoopy: **__When things get nutty._

_**Woodstock: **__Nutty?_

_**Snoopy: **__You're always there,mon frere._

_**Woodstock: **__Touché!_

_**Snoopy: **__And-_

_**Both: **__buddy! Who cares if people think it's strange?_

_You're my best buddy,bud,don't ever change._

"_I'm sorry I called you dishonest once Woodstock." _Snoopy timidly apologized for one time where he supposedly called Woodstock a liar as the bird flew on top of his nose and replied _"Well I can play a little fast and loose with the truth,but you know one thing I never lie about? You!" _before he suddenly got all teary eyed and cried out while he hugged his friend as best he could "_You're my closest pal!"_

_**Woodstock: **__When I need a wingman by my side,I'll hitch a ride with you._

_**Snoopy: **__Ask for anything man,I'll provide,it's no big whoop-dee-doo!_

_**Woodstock: **__Sure!_

_**Both: **__Buddy! You're my best buddy!_

_**Woodstock: **__When I feel cruddy._

_You set me straight,old mate._

_**Both: **__So buddy,no matter what the fates arrange._

_You're my best buddy,bud,don't ever change._

"_Check out these moves man!" _Woodstock suddenly requested in an ecstatic tone of voice as he begun doing little dance moves on the table before Snoopy laughed hysterically and retorted _"Haha! Oh Woodstock,shall we?" _to which the bird nodded his head and instantly agreed with whatever idea Snoopy had in mind _"Of course,take a lead!"_

"_We shall!" _Snoopy shook his head and cheerfully corrected Woodstock as he climbed on top of the table and started to dance himself before Woodstock happily joined him _"Hahaha! Here we go!" _before the two of them started dancing frantically with each other on the table top.

_Buddy! You're my best buddy!_

_**Woodstock: **__Though life gets muddy._

_**Snoopy: **__This friendship's clean,old bean._

_**Both: **__So buddy! Whatever comes,however strange._

_**Woodstock: **__You'll always be my best buddy!_

_**Snoopy: **__More fun than the silliest putty!_

_**Woodstock: **__You're never ever a bit fuddy-duddy!_

_**Snoopy: **__You're something else that rhymes with uddy!_

_**Both: **__You're my best buddy,bud,don't ever change!_

However Snoopy and Woodstock's little song and dance number would be quickly interrupted when they both ended up slipping right off the table and fell onto the floor with a loud,crashing thud,only for the two of them to start laughing uncontrollably for what felt like an eternity instead of cringe in pain,all the while the beagle's family continued to watch them both in awe and confusion as Andy nonchalantly remarked _"Yeah one of us definitely needs to drive tomorrow."_

"**As Long As You're Mine." Copyright Of The Verve Music Group. Written By Stephen Schwartz.**

"**Buddy Song." Copyright Of Walt Disney Records. Written By Alan Menken And Glenn Slater.**


	17. Chapter 17: We're Stars,Charlie Brown!

Chapter 17: We're All Stars,Charlie Brown!

As a result of Snoopy and Woodstock practically getting themselves hammered harder than they ever had before thanks to the bar they typically went to having an all you can drink root beer binge,Andy and the rest of the beagle's siblings ended up having to drag both of them home at 1:00 in the morning and also drive everyone to the theater the next day. After Snoopy and Woodstock finally managed to sober themselves up after Lucy had dumped a bucket of ice cold water on them,everyone was now ready to start preparations for their very first show that would be held that very same night. Everyone had completely put their full A game into their last day of rehearsal and they were 100% determined to have their first show be as perfect and mind blowing as possible,because if they wanted the crowd to come back for their second show that would be held only a short while after,then they would have to MAKE them want to come back for seconds.

However while everyone else was practicing in the theater,James,Snoopy and the rest of his family however had instead been given the task of selling tickets and doing general promotion for the show outside,which of course involved Snoopy dressing up as Santa Clause and relentlessly ringing a small bell for what felt like an eternity while James,Spike,Olaf,Andy,Marbles and Belle merely spung and set up signs around town that let people know about the show.

Pretty soon however everyone's last day of rehearsal and preparation would come to an end and would instead be replaced with show night,and James and the beagles certainly did a good job of promoting it since loads and loads of people were pouring into the auditorium seats,and they were even buying small bags and tubs of roasted acorns and popcorm that Ed had made. Aside from Woodstock and Amy,the rest of the birds were busy tuning up all of the instruments down below by the stage as they would be the symphony orchestra that would perform the music to the songs,and the rest of the gang was getting themselves ready for the show backstage.

"Oh boy,looks like we got ourselves a full house tonight." Peppermint Patty wolf whistled in awe as she peeped outside the curtain to see that almost all of the seats in the auditorium were completely filled before Charlie Brown joined her and gasped in bewilderment while he peeped outside the right end of the curtain "Oh you're right Patty,I haven't seen a theater this packed in a long time. I can only imagine how long it's gonna take for all of us to count the money after the show."

"Well the way I see it Chuck,the longer it takes for us to count the money,the better,since that basically means our nightly haul is bigger." Peppermint Patty shrugged her arms and enthusiastically remarked as she turned to the right to see that Charlie Brown was already dressed up in one of the suits that the girls had made to which she gasped and complimented the boy while she walked up to him "Whoa there,you look positively dashing Chuck. I never thought that you of all people would look good in a suit and top hat." before Charlie Brown got a little red in the face and timidly complimented her back "Y-you look good too Patty,I mean I know you're not in your show clothes yet but,I have noticed that you spruced yourself up a little for the show."

"Well I'm just glad that someone finally decided to bring up it up,you sly dog." Patty chuckled and stated in relief that someone noticed her slightly combed hair and choice to actually wear dress shoes for once instead of just sandals as she lightly nudged Charlie Brown on the shoulder before Marcie suddenly walked up to them and stated in slight confusion "I don't mean to try and raise any alarm sir,but I've noticed that there seem to be plenty of cameramen in the audience." to which Freida nodded her head and added when she overheard the remark "Yeah and there are also some news vans and reporters outside."

Charlie Brown and Patty were of course very confused and put off by this sudden bit of news as the former raised an eyebrow and stammered "C-cameras? Reporters? What are they doing here?" before the latter added equally as confused "Man are some people so desperate for a story that they'd resort to spying on us?" to which the voice of James suddenly shook his head and disagreed when he walked up to the four of them and joined the conversation "Actually no. Y-you see,I MAY have taken out another loan from the bank and asked the news to cover and show it on national TV."

"What?!" Peppermint Patty and Charlie Brown both exclaimed in utter shock that James had managed to get their show to be broadcast live on TV and be covered by the news before James grew a little bit of a nervous grin and timidly asked "I-is there something wrong?" to which Patty shook her head and fiercely denied it "Something wrong?! No way James,that's very awesome of you to get our talents be shown on national television! Nice going there!"

Afterwards James felt his face become a little hot as he chuckled and nervously brushed his deed aside like it was nothing "I-it's really nothing you fellas,I just thought that the more attention we got,the better things would generally work out." before Patty grabbed him by the head and gave him a noogie while she remarked in awe "You know I never thought I'd be saying this a second time,but I'm actually glad that the bank has gone and come through for us."

"Thanks a lot for all your help and promotion James,we really appreciate it." Freida happily thanked James for all his help with the show after Patty's full assault on his head had come to a close to which Marcie and Charlie Brown smiled and nodded their heads in agreement,making James smile yet again as he straightened out his hair and clothes.

* * *

However it was then and there that their friendly little discussion suddenly came to an end when Franklin came running up to them with a clipboard in hand and frantically announced nearly out of breath "It's almost time for the show you guys,you all best get yourselves ready because I highly doubt that crowd and those reporters out there are gonna want to wait a long time." to which Charlie Brown got a very determined look on his face and obliged "Sure thing Franklin,come on,lets round everyone up and get this show started."

Afterwards Charlie Brown,Marcie,Franklin,Freida,Patty and James headed to the middle of the backstage area where everyone else was lollygagging around and getting themselves ready as the round headed boy cleared his throat and called out "Group meeting everyone! Group meeting!" to which the rest of the gang stopped what they were doing and gathered round the boy before he announced "Franklin has just come to me and said that it's almost time to start the show,and before the rest of y'all go out to finish getting ready,I just want to say that I'm really glad that we have made it this far in planning this show. Because right now we have a huge crowd of theater goers,families,news reporters and a whole lot of people at home waiting to be amazed,and as I stand here before you tonight,all I ask is…..are you ready to put on a show?!"

"Yeah!" The rest of the gang cheered in pure excitement for the show to come as Lucy firmly added in determination "Tonight we're gonna make enough money to pay the bank twice over! And even if we somehow don't,we still got ourselves another show to do! This is gonna be a piece of cake!" before Charlie Brown chuckled and cheerfully suggested "Alright then gang,let's all get ourselves ready and put on the best dang show that Sparkyville has ever seen!" to which everyone cheered yet again even louder than before as they all headed off to the dressing rooms to prepare and get ready,with the exception of Linus however who merely walked up to Charlie Brown and happily reassured the boy "This is gonna work Charlie Brown,I promise. We've come too far with this whole crusade of ours for it not to."

Afterwards Charlie Brown's enthusiastic and uplifted grin slowly started to morph into a slightly weary frown as he sighed and retorted with a little bit of concern in his voice "I really hope so Linus,because I don't know what we're gonna do if it doesn't." before Linus lightly chuckled and tried to lighten up the mood "Well,if we need to find another way to pay off the bank,then that's just what we'll do,but I honestly have a gut feeling that this is all we'll need to do." to which Charlie Brown felt his spirit be lifted back up while he nodded his head in agreement with a determined look on his face.

* * *

Sometime later after everyone had finally managed to get themselves ready for the show,Linus slowly stepped on out from behind the curtain and onto the stage with his suit and hat on as the murmuring and chatty crowd quickly silenced themselves and allowed the boy to speak before he cleared his throat and cheerfully announced while a spotlight shined on him "Good evening and or morning to you all,my name is Linus Van Pelt,and it is my pleasant duty to welcome you all here,on behalf of Sparkyville,and all the musicians,dancers and performers,whose combined talents all went into the show you are all about to see. What you are all going to see tonight are three musical performances that fully embrace what it means to sing and dance and express yourself through the art of musical theater,and whether you are right here in this very theater or if you're watching this at home on your TV,all I can assure you is that your experience will be nothing short of the best that we can offer,and now without further ado…..please enjoy the show."

Afterwards Linus gave a short bow and quickly headed to the sidelines of the stage as the crowd gave a huge round of applause while the curtains slowly lifted up to reveal none other than Rebecca standing in complete darkness by herself,and as it was to be expected she was wearing one of the many dresses and tiaras that she and some of the other girls had made the day before.

_**Rebecca: **__Uncle Gutenberg was a bookworm,and he lived on Charing Cross._

_The memory of his volumes brings a smile._

_He would read me lots of stories,when he wasn't on the sauce._

_Now I'd like to share the wisdom,of my favorite bibliophile._

Afterwards Snoopy,Spike,Olaf,Andy,Marbles and Belle came quickly sliding by onto the stage with pitch black suits,top hats and canes as the stage fully lit up to reveal everyone else in the gang aside from Ed in similar outfits and dresses,along with huge painted cardboard props of classic books from Peter Pan,Alice In Wonderland,Narnia and Harry Potter.

_He said a cover is not the book,so open it up and take a look._

'_Cause under the covers one discovers that the king may be a crook. _

_Chapter titles are like signs,and if you read between the lines._

_You'll find your first impression was mistook._

_For a cover is nice,but a cover is not the book._

_**Kids: ***__Inane scatting.*_

"Why Rebecca,could you give us an example?" Scheroder politely asked with a toothy and smug grin as Rebecca nodded her head and cheerfully obliged "Certainly."

_**Rebecca: **__Nelly Rebitta was made of wood,but what could not be seen was though._

_Her trunk up top was barren,well her roots were lush and green._

_So in spring when Mr Hickory saw her blossoms bloomin' there._

_He took fruit despite her bark,and now there's seedlings everywhere._

Suddenly Ed came ascending down from the ceiling with a hook attached to him and grabbed Rebecca by the arm as they began to fly around the stage.

_**Rebecca And Ed: **__Which proves a cover is not the book,so open it up and take a look._

'_Cause under the covers one discovers that the king may be a crook._

_**Ed: **__Chapter titles are like signs._

_**Rebecca: **__And if you read between the lines._

_**Rebecca And Ed: **__You'll find your first impression was mistook._

_For a cover is nice,but the cover is not the book._

"Should we do the one about the wealthy widow?" Ed gleefully asked as he and Rebecca came back down to the stage before the girl happily agreed with the idea "Oh by all means." while Ed cheerfully replied "Always loved that one." to which the girl enthusiastically suggested "Oh go on then!"

_**Ed: **__Lady Hyacinth McCall brought all her treasures to a reef._

_**Rebecca: **__Where she only wore a smile._

_**Ed: **__Plus two feathers,and a leaf._

_**Rebecca: **__So no one tried to rob her,'cause she barely wore a stitch._

_**Ed: **__But when you're in your birthday suit._

_**Rebecca And Ed: **__There ain't much there to show you're rich._

_**Everyone: **__Oh a cover is not the book,so open it up and take a look._

'_Cause under the covers one discovers that the king may be a crook._

_*Inane scatting.*_

_**Rebecca And Ed: **__You'll find your first impression was mistook._

_Ya-da-da-da._

_For a cover is nice,but a cover is not the book._

"Oh give us the one about the dirty rascal,why don't ya?" Rebecca suddenly perked up and cheerfully suggested as Ed grew a slight look of concern and asked "Isn't that one a bit long?" only for Rebecca to scoff and insist that he do it "Well the quicker you're into it,the quicker you're out of it." to which Ed shrugged his arms and happily obliged "Alright then."

_**Ed: **Once upon a time in a nursery rhyme,there was a castle with a king hiding in a wing._

_'Cause he never went to school to learn a single thing._

_He had scepters and swords and a parliament of lords._

_But on the inside he was sad,egad! Because he never had a wisdom for numbers._

_A wisdom for words,though his crown was quite immense._

_His brain was smaller than a bird's._

_So the queen of the nation,made a royal proclamation to the misses and the mssrs. _

_The more or lesses._

_"Bring me all the land's professors." _

_Then she went to the hairdressers._

_And they came from the east,and they came from the south._

_From each college they poured knowledge from their brains into his mouth._

_But the king couldn't learn,so each professor met their fate._

_For the queen had their heads removed and placed upon the gate._

_And on that date,I state their wives all got a note._

_Their mate was now the late great._

_But then suddenly one day a stranger started in to sing._

_He said "I'm the dirty rascal and I'm here to teach the king."_

_And the queen clutched her jewels,for she hated royal fools,but this fool had some rules they really oughta teach in schools._

_Like 'You'll be a happy king if you enjoy the things you've got."_

"_You should never try to be the kind of person that you're not."_

_So they sang and they laughed,for the king had found a friend._

_And they ran into a rainbow for the story's perfect end._

_So the moral is you mustn't let the outside be the guide._

_For it's not so cut and dried well unless it's Dr Jekyll then you better hide,petrified._

_No the truth can't be denied as I have now testified._

_All that really counts and matters is the special stuff inside!_

"You did it!" Rebecca and the rest of the gang exclaimed in shock and awe that Ed was able to finish the story as the crowd briefly erupted with cheers and applause.

_**Everyone: **__Oh a cover is not the book,so open it up and take a look._

'_Cause under the covers one discovers that the king may be a crook._

_**Rebecca: **__So please listen to what we've said._

_**Ed: **__And open a book tonight in bed._

_**Rebecca And Ed: **__So one more time before we get the hook. _

_**Ed: **__Sing it out strong!_

_**Kids**__: A cover is nice!_

_**Rebecca: **__Please take our advice._

_**Kids: **__A cover is nice!_

_**Ed: **__Or you'll pay the price._

_**Everyone: **__A cover is nice,but a cover is not the book!_

Immediately afterwards the entire crowd of people exploded into a huge assortment of cheers and applause as the gang of performers graciously bowed before the curtain came rolling down,quickly followed by Linus coming back out and announcing with a chuckle "Well that sure was a nice way to start off the show huh? Well that was only the first of our three performances for tonight and I can assure you that it only gets better and better from here. Please take the time to enjoy our next performance,and I'm glad to announce that this next one is a full on solo. Please enjoy." before he bowed once again and the curtains came up a second time to reveal Marcie standing a few feet away from a microphone while the crowd applauded yet again.

Marcie definitely looked like she was feeling a tad bit nervous about her performance,every other time she had done something on stage either had to do with a school assembly or just her being a second banana to someone else that wouldn't generally be focused on,like the time Peppermint Patty had her be a karate assistant for her performance at the school talent show. But this time it was completely different,now SHE was the main star of the performance now and it clearly made her a little uncomfortable as she timidly grabbed the microphone out the holder and nervously thought to herself _"Good grief why did I not think this through? There's so many of them out there,why is this only happening to me NOW?" _

Marcie's obvious case of stage fright was starting to get so bad that she almost considered just running off the stage and letting someone else quickly take her place,but it was when she noticed in her peripheral vision that Charlie Brown,Peppermint Patty,Snoopy,Rebecca and Linus were all looking at her with encouraging smiles from the sidelines that she suddenly felt herself become a lot more confident and uplifted about the whole thing as she grew a faint smile herself,tightened her grip on the microphone and took a deep breath while Scheroder started to play his piano from the orchestra area down below.

_**Marcie: **__I'm trying to hold my breath._

_Let it stay this way,can't let this moment end._

_You set off a dream with me,getting louder now,can you hear it echoing?_

_Take my hand,will you share this with me?_

'_Cause darling without you._

_All the shine of a thousand spotlights._

_All the stars we steal from the night sky will never be enough._

_Never be enough._

_Towers of gold are still too little._

_These hands could hold the world but it'll never be enough._

_Never be enough,for me._

_Never,never. __Never,never._

_Never,for me,for me._

_Never enough! __Never enough! _

_Never enough! __For me! For me! For me! _

_All the shine of a thousand spotlights._

_All the stars we steal from the night sky will never be enough._

_Never be enough!_

_Towers of gold are still too little._

_These hands could hold the world but it'll,never be enough._

_Never be enough,for me!_

_Never,never!_

_Never,never!_

_Never,for me,for me._

_Never enough! __Never,never!_

_Never enough! __Never,never!_

_Never enough!_

_For me,for me,for me!_

_For me._

The entire auditorium was left with nothing but complete silence after Marcie's performance had come to a close,in fact it was so dead silent that for a split second she thought that maybe they didn't like her performance as she grew a somber look on her face and slowly hung her head. However that great sense of defeat and unaccomplishment inside her would quickly be washed away when she suddenly heard Peppermint Patty,Charlie Brown,Linus,Rebecca and Snoopy cheering and applauding from the sidelines which was quickly followed by the rest of the audience joining in as the girl slowly lifted her head up and saw the entire audience roaring with praise before she grew a small smile and even started to tear up a little bit while she bowed before the crowd.

"T-thank you all." Marcie meekly thanked the audience for their support while she slowly bowed in front of them before she slowly headed over to the sidelines where the others were to which Peppermint Patty happily remarked in awe as she gave her a hug "Way to go Marcie,you did great!"

"Y-you really think so sir?" Marcie chuckled and timidly asked in awe that Patty actually liked her performance as Charlie Brown scoffed and cheerfully confirmed that he did while Patty let her go "Of course we do Marcie,I think there was a reason that Snoopy personally picked you to perform this song." before the dog in question happily nodded his head in agreement and gave Marcie a hug as well to which Rebecca lastly added "You did a great job out there Marcie. That was really brave of you to go out like that."

"Rebecca's right,you really came through for us tonight." Linus enthusiastically agreed with Charlie Brown and the others as Marcie got a little red in the face and happily replied "Thanks everyone,I did my best and it seems it really paid off. But I guess you and Freida are up next then Charles,I hope you two do a good job with wrapping up the show." before Charlie Brown sighed and retorted a little nervous himself "I hope so too Marcie,a bad ending can really leave a sour taste in everyone's mouth." to which Linus chuckled and suggested "Well why don't you two go ahead and get yourselves yourselves ready while I introduce the last song to the crowd?"

"Right." Charlie Brown nodded his head and agreed to do so before he headed to the back of the stage to prepare with Freida while Linus headed to the front of the stage for the last time and cleared his throat as the audience quieted down "Well I can certainly say that our show tonight has been nothing short of an awe inspiring experience,tonight we showed you all of our cast members coming together for a lecture in reading and literature,along with one of our very own graciously performing all by herself for the very first time,but now as we come to the very last performance of the night,why don't we give a little bit of jazz some time to shine? However before we go for the night I just want to say,thank you all for coming,and please enjoy." before he bowed yet again for the very last time and exited the stage while the curtains lifted up for one final time.

* * *

Freida was of course standing all by herself in the middle of the stage which was now filled with tall pieces of cardboard that were all painted and cut out to look like lit city buildings in the dead of night,with there also being a huge painted backdrop of what looked like Hollywood at sunset in the background. The audience was actually pretty impressed by the new design of the set as they ooed at the sight of it while Scheroder started to play his piano in the orchestra area down below.

_**Freida: **__*Scatting.*_

_I think about that day,I left him at a Greyhound station west of Sante Fe._

_We were seventeen,but he was sweet and it was true,still I knew what I had to do._

'_Cause I just knew._

_Summer Sunday nights,we'd sink into our seats right as they dimmed out all the lights._

_A technicolor world made out of music and machine,it called me to be on that screen._

_And live inside each scene._

Suddenly Charlie Brown came waltzing out of a small doorway from one of the cardboard city buildings and joined in on the act.

_**Charlie Brown And Freida: **__Without a nickel to my name,hopped a bus,here I came._

_Could be brave or just insane,we'll have to see._

_**Freida: **__'Cause maybe in that sleepy town,he'll sit one day,the lights are down._

_He'll see my face and think of how he used to know me._

Afterwards the rest of the gang suddenly emerged from the other cardboard city buildings through the doorways and even the windows ways as they also joined Charlie Brown and Freida's act.

_**Everyone: **__Climb these hills,I'm reaching for the heights._

_And chasing all the lights that shine._

_And when they let you down,you'll get up off the ground._

'_Cause morning rolls around and it's another day of sun._

_**Charlie Brown: **__I hear 'em every day,the rhythms in the canyons that'll never fade away._

_The ballads in the barrooms left by those who came before,they say "You gotta want it more."_

_So I bang on every door._

_**Freida: **__And even when the answer's no or when my money's running low._

_The dusty mic and neon glow,are all I need._

_**Charlie Brown: **__And someday as I sing my song,a small town kid will come along._

_**Charlie Brown And Freida: **__That'll be the thing to push him on and go,go._

_**Everyone: **__Climb these hills,I'm reaching for the heights._

_And chasing all the lights that shine._

_And when they let you down,you'll get off the ground._

'_Cause morning rolls around and it's another day of sun._

Afterwards everyone started to dance like they had never danced before which included them all performing their trademark moves such as Shermy performing the zombie and Snoopy jumping up in the air repeatedly with Woodstock,Amy,Jaser and his family,all the while Scheroder and the orchestra down below continued to go completely nuts with the music.

_**Freida: **__And when they let you down._

_The morning rolls around._

_**Everyone: **__It's another day of sun._

_It's another day of sun_

_It's another day of sun._

_It's another day of sun._

_Just another day of sun._

_It's another day of sun._

_Another day has just begun._

_It's another day of sun._

_**Animals: ***Imitating car noises.*_

_**Everyone: **It's another day of sun!_

After the very last performance for the show had finally come to a close,the audience absolutely erupted and shook the theater with a huge standing ovation and barrage of cheering as everyone up on the stage slowly and gracefully bowed with gratitude,with Sally and Lucy even managing to catch some flowers that people from the audience had thrown onto the stage.

After a few more moments of them listening to the audience's constant praise,Linus finally decided that it was time to wrap up the show for the night as he stepped forward and announced as the audience quieted themselves down "Thank you all for coming everyone,we all had a very good time showing you all what we are capable of doing in the world of musical theater,but this certainly isn't the last time you'll be seeing us,because we actually got ourselves one last encore coming sometime next week! We hope to see you all there along with everyone else watching at home,but in the meantime,thank you and goodnight Sparkyville!" before the curtains came rolling down and the audience cheered yet again while they begun to slowly but surely leave their seats.

It was pretty safe to say at this point that the gang's first show was an overwhelming success and after everything they had gone through to get said show off the ground,that was more than just good news to them,it was a miracle.

"**A Cover Is Not The Book." Copyright Of Walt Disney Records. Music And Lyrics By Scott Whitman And Marc Shaiman.**

"**Never Enough." Copyright Of Atlantic Records. Music And Lyrics By Benj Pasek And Justin Paul.**

"**Another Day Of Sun." Copyright Of Interscope Records. Music By Justin Hurwitz And Lyrics By Benj Pasek And Justin Paul.**


	18. Chapter 18: Where Do We Go From Here

Chapter 18: Where Do We Go From Here?

If you would have walked up to the Peanuts gang about a week ago and told them that they were gonna reopen a long since closed down community theater downtown and effectively make enough money to buy themselves a small car in only one night,it would be pretty safe to say that they would call you completely insane which would be quickly followed by Lucy and Peppermint Patty slugging you for being a grade A liar. But honestly what ended up being the craziest and most outlandish thing that would ever come out of such a ridiculous and frivolous charade was the revelation that they actually managed to pull it off after all,with some extra help from James for managing to get them the funds necessary for the crusade in the first place. It was a little while after all of the audience members had left the auditorium and the only ones left were of course the performers as they had merely decided to stay behind and clean up the place ahead of time so they wouldn't have to do it around the time they would start preparing for their next and final show,all the while they had changed back into their normal clothing attire.

Peppermint Patty,Charlie Brown and Sally were sitting at the edge of the stage and looking off into the now empty isles of theater seats as the round headed boy sighed and remarked in awe "You know it's not until you see what a packed crowd of audience members looks like,that you realize how huge and empty an auditorium can actually be." before Sally leaned her head down on her knees and blissfully reminisced about the show "I still can't believe we did all that in front of so many people big brother,it's like we were in a completely different world compared to our own. Except it was our own world the whole time." to which Peppermint Patty stretched out her arms and playfully retorted "Well that's the thing about the theater life,it gets so nuts and bonkers from time to time that you almost feel like you're in another world,and when you finally do come back to the real world,everything's all quiet and drab in comparison."

"Well I wouldn't really mind either life to be honest,as long as I no longer have to dress up as cows for my sister." Charlie Brown chuckled and joked as he was clearly referencing the disastrous talent show incident where he had to sacrifice his magic act and dress up as a cow in order to cheer his sister up after her cowgirl act fell flat on its face before Sally scoffed and tried to lighten up her brother's mood "Hey I still tried to get the school paper to give you half the credit big brother,besides I think that magic act of your's would have been a disaster anyway."

"Thanks for that Sally." Charlie Brown rolled his eyes and sarcastically thanked Sally for her "uplifting" words before the voice of Ed suddenly called out to them from behind "Timber!" to which the three kids turned around to see that Ed was just about to bring down one of the huge pieces of cardboard onto the stage floor as Charlie Brown,Sally and Peppermint Patty yelped at the sight and scurried out of the way just before the cardboard hit the floor with a loud thud.

"You could have warned us about that Ed,we could have been turned into pancakes!" Sally angrily scolded Ed for not bothering to warn them about the falling stage prop as Ed merely shrugged his arms and tried to defend himself "Hey I thought y'all's instincts would have kicked in by now,guess not then." before Franklin suddenly walked up to the cardboard and enthusiastically remarked "Alright,now that some of this stuff is down,I suggest that we find some way to savor it and see if we can use some of it for the last show." to which Shermy rolled his eyes and respectfully asked in response "Don't you think we're over planning this a bit? I mean we did just finish our first show and all,I don't think we need to be planning THIS far ahead."

"Yeah and our last one isn't even for another week." Pig-Pen nodded his head and agreed with Shermy's idea that they shouldn't be overworking themselves as Charlie Brown couldn't help but agree as well "I mean we do have quite a while until our next show,perhaps we could postpone the work for a while and save it for when the show actually starts coming around?" Franklin stood there in mostly silence for a few moments afterwards as he was clearly thinking the proposition over,but after a few more moments he seemed to have finally come to a decision as he shrugged his arms and obliged "Well I guess we don't have to be doing all the preparations NOW. Alright let's give ourselves a break and come back…...say…...two days before our next show on Christmas Eve night." to which Charlie Brown nodded his head and showed support for the idea "Okay that sounds reasonable,that ain't even for eight more days." before Violet gave a deep sigh of relief and happily added "Oh it certainly does Charlie Brown,we haven't had ourselves a break in days. So much for a nice winter vacation."

Freida on the other hand was a little more cautious in regards to the whole idea of relaxing for a while as she raised an eyebrow and politely asked "Well,what exactly are we gonna do during that time? It's not like we can do a whole lot with the bank constantly breathing down our backs." before Linus suddenly came strolling by with a huge silver case dragging on the floor behind him and groaned in a tired and sore tone of voice "Well I will be…..counting all this money. And given how heavy this thing is,I think we got ourselves a big load right here."

"Good grief,are there blocks of gold in that thing?" Lucy gasped and exclaimed in pure awe of the size and supposed weight of the case while Linus let go of the handle and let it fall on the stage floor with a loud thud that caused a small crack to appear in the floor,making everyone be left in a state of shock as Pig-Pen nervously gulped and murmured "I never thought I'd ever be intimidated by a stack of money,I guess you learn something new everyday." to which Charlie Brown rolled his eyes and offered "You know Linus,why don't you let me count the money this time?"

"Huh? YOU want to count the money?" Patty Swanson raised an eyebrow and asked in bewilderment that Charlie Brown wanted to count the money as Marcie respectfully added in disbelief "Charles are you sure that you can count all this money by yourself? There's likely a lot of it in that thing." to which the boy nodded his head and reassured them that he could do it "Yes I'm sure Marcie,Linus counted the money last time so I was thinking maybe someone else should do the honor this time."

"Well alright then,just don't hurt yourself when trying to lift this thing." Linus sighed and meekly obliged to let Charlie Brown count the money as the boy confidently replied "Don't worry I will Linus,I'll count the money tonight and take it to the bank tomorrow so they can take care of it." before James suddenly joined in on the conversation and suggested "Actually I suggest that you bring the money to me in my office,I think my father would prefer if it all was delivered in one complete batch." to which Charlie Brown slowly nodded his head and obliged with a little bit of confusion "Oh,alright James I'll do that."

"So,should we go ahead and head on home?" Rebecca sighed and suggested that they finally head on home for the night only for Ed to suddenly and quickly try to shut down that idea "Hold up,no way. Are we all forgetting that we literally just had a massively successful theater show that was shown on NATIONAL TV and covered by every news outlet in the country? Surely we have to celebrate the occasion in some way,shape or form." before Peppermint Patty instantly showed support for the idea while she slapped Ed on the back "You know Ed,you may be a bit of a crazy loon upstairs sometimes,but you sure do know the right time to celebrate a glorious occasion. What do you think everyone?"

Charlie Brown however was slightly skeptical to think that they could possibly find some way to celebrate the success of their show as he timidly intervened "I mean,sure thing Ed if you want to but,what exactly are we gonna do? You can't just be talking about Joe's or Ace's can you?" to which the hermit grew a little bit of an evil grin on his face and retorted while he oddly enough started to put on his suit and top hat back on "Oh I'm definitely not talking about Joe's or Ace's Chuck,I'm talking about something big….something that big time theater stars like us are truly deserving of,y'all will just need to get back into your fancy clothes if that's alright." The rest of the gang as a result of this was certainly intrigued by Ed's mysterious way to celebrate the success of their show as Linus raised an eyebrow and asked with a slight hint of caution "Ed,what exactly are you talking about here?" to which the now fully dressed hermit devilishly chuckled and explained himself "I'm talking…...about Sparkyville's Annual Christmas Ball."


	19. Chapter 19: Sparkyville's Christmas Ball

Chapter 19: Sparkyville's Annual Christmas Ball

Way up past the downtown area of Sparkyville and probably about five miles away from the newly rebuilt community theater,there was an old yet still relatively standing strong chapel like building in a small patch of woods away from the bustling city and town environment of Sparkyville. The chapel on the outside looked like it was around there since the early to mid 1800's due to the age of the wood,and written up in cursive handwriting on a long since faded bronze plague above the doorway were the words "Sparkyville Catholic Church Of Christ." embedded. However this display of what the chapel seemed to look like on the outside was absoutely nothing compared to what was going on on the inside,because one single step past the front door would be more than enough for someone to realize what was going on since there were what appeared to be many men and women partying around in fancy clothes while a small band of performers played very folk like music up on a small stage,giving the whole party that seemed to be going on a very old fashioned vibe that almost felt like a time capsule of the 1800's.

And of course it seemed that the only kids and animals that were in here were none other than the Peanuts gang since they all stood at the doorway in their fancy attire that they used for their show along with Snoopy's siblings,Woodstock,Amy and Jasper,and they were all left in sheer awe of what they were looking at as Linus stammered in bewilderment "E-Ed,what on earth is this place?" before Violet added equally as awestruck "I feel like we just walked out of a time machine and came out in the 1800's."

"Actually you're not too far off from the truth Violet. Come on gang,follow me." Ed chuckled and playfully retorted as he and the rest of the gang slowly started to make their way through the chapel before Charlie Brown gulped asked out of curiosity "So Ed,what do you mean by that? Not being far off from the truth?" to which the hermit cleared his throat and clarified things "Well you see,this is the Sparkyville Annual Christmas Ball,they hold it right here every year since it's monumental debut in 1812. This here chapel has been around for ages and is now often used for parties,weddings,auctions,and in tonight's case,Christmas balls."

The rest of the gang was now left with a slight sense of intrigue due to the chapel's purpose along with Ed's prestige knowledge about it as Marcie calmly remarked in awe "You sure do know your Sparkyville history Ed. I don't think even I knew that." to which the hermit sighed and jokingly replied "Well when your orphanage has a massive library that you are heavily pressured into going to during your free time,you tend to learn some things. But going back to what I was saying,only the big time fancy folk can get into places like this,while in their own words,common riff raff have to settle for Christmas Pageants and winter dances. Unless you're like me however who instead snuck in once with some kids from the orphanage."

"So why exactly are WE here then? Shouldn't we be considered riff raff by these guys?" Freida raised an eyebrow and asked out of slight confusion that they were here at all then as Ed merely scoffed and retorted "Look at us Freida,with these duds on these snobs will let anyone in,not to mention that we're big time theater stars now and can fit into their ranks." before James nodded his head and nonchalantly agreed "Edward is right,all you really need to get in here is to look the slightest bit fancy and sophisticated even though you could be a complete fraud. My father does come around here from time to time,because even he likes to relish in the holiday festivities." to which Linus got a little look of concern and timidly asked in response "Hold up,wouldn't that mean he would be here tonight? I highly doubt he'd want you to be out this late."

Afterwards James merely shook his head and frantically denied the possibility of his father being at the ball "Oh no,no,no,no,no. My father has been far too busy with the debacle going on with the bank to possibly do much of anything that's not work related,that's one of the reasons why I'm helping y'all out with this whole thing. He desperately needs a break from all this and I want to make him proud of me for once,even if it means doing the one thing he hated the most." to which Charlie Brown grew a little bit of a smile and hopefully showed his support "Well I hope you do too James,I hope you do too."

* * *

However it was then and there that the gang would suddenly be halted dead in their tracks when they all heard a young girl's voice call out to them in a Scottish ascent "Bless me bagpipes! It's Edward Fitzherbert!" to which Lucy raised an eyebrow and murmured to herself in confusion "What in the world was that?" while Ed on the other hand quickly grew a huge look of excitement and happily stated "Hey I know that voice,Ashlynn Merida is that you? Where are ya?!" before the same voice from before instantly responded "Over here Ed!"

Afterwards the gang turned their heads over to the left to see that there was a young girl that looked around their age in a fancy pink dress with long red locks of shaggy hair,a small white borehat and a pair of black slippers leaning on the base of the music stage and waving at the kids as Ed happily exclaimed at the sight of the girl while he ran up to greet her "Hi there Ashlyn! What are you doing all the way over here?!" All the while the rest of the kids merely stayed behind and looked at each other in confusion of the display before Ed ecstatically called out to them from up ahead "Come on gang get over here and introduce yourselves!" to which they all reluctantly did so and slowly joined Ed and this mysterious lady friend of his at the base of the stage.

"Ed,w-who's this?" Rebecca politely asked Ed the identity of this new girl that he seemed to have a relationship with as the boy happily turned around and clarified things "Gang,this is Ashlynn Merida. Introduce yourself girl." to which the red haired girl politely waved her hand and introduced herself "Hello everyone,are y'all friends of Ed's too?" while Peppermint Patty nodded her head and cautiously replied "I suppose you could say we are." before Linus respectfully asked in intrigue "So uh...Ashlynn I take it you're a friend of Ed's?"

"You darn bet she is. She was one of my besties back when I lived in the orphanage,she was one of the other kids I'd sneak in here with,and she was also the one who helped convinced me to get on out of that place." Ed scoffed and happily confirmed that she was one of his friends as Charlie Brown grew a small smile and enthusiastically introduced himself "Oh,well it's nice to meet you Ashlynn. The names Charles but you can just call me Charlie Brown." to which everyone introduced themselves individually afterwards,which of course involved Snoopy kissing her hand and the rest of his family tipping their hats to her.

* * *

After everyone had finally properly introduced themselves to Ashlynn,Ed decided to try and figure out what she was doing here in the first place as he happily sighed and questioned "So what are you doing here anyway Ashlynn? Either you've gotten really good at sneaking into these kind of places or there's something else going on." before Ashlynn chuckled and politely explained herself "Actually it would be the latter Ed,you see sometime after you left the orphanage,a nice little man came up and decided to adopt me,but little did I know that that man was the very runner of this here ball. So every year since,I've been coming over here with him at night to partake in the holiday festivities." to which Franklin cheerfully replied in awe "You sure are a lucky girl then Ashlynn,because it looks like you're typically the only kid here."

"Well you do get used to the loneliness after a little while,besides it's really the dancing and music that I love to partake in." Ashlynn shrugged her arms and nonchalantly brushed the fact that she was normally the only kid at the ball aside only for her to suddenly grow a seductive grin on her face and asked "Speaking of which Edward,would you and your friends like to partake in one?" to which the boy nodded his head and immediately took her up on the offer "Oh absolutely,that's what I came here for in the first place. Come on everyone you'll love it!" before he and Ashlynn climbed up on the stage.

"You know I don't think even Dirty Dancing has as much dancing as we are doing tonight." Charlie Brown sighed and murmured to himself when he realized just how much dancing they were doing in one night while Lucy merely scoffed and relished in the idea "Well I on the other hand do not mind since we are now in with the fancy folk,I'll take any opportunity I can to feel like royalty." to which Linus rolled his eyes and quietly whispered to the others "Except that James literally said that all you need to do to get in here is to wear a suit and they'll think you're top stuff." before Snoopy,Spike,Olaf,Andy,Belle and Marbles joined Ed and Ashlynn up on the stage.

_**Ed: **__We're so glad to have you here tonight._

_**Ashlynn: **__Pour some wine and have yourselves a bite._

_**Both: **__Here's to all who've come to pay a call._

_It's Sparkyville's Annual Christmas Ball._

_Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-ho!_

_**Ashlynn: **__Where do bankers gallivant like boys?_

_**Ed: **__Why do vicars make a holy noise?_

_**Ashlynn: **__What's so hot you've got to shed your shawl?_

_**Both: **__It's Sparkyville's Annual Christmas Ball._

_Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-ho!_

_**Crowd: **__Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-ho!_

_Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-ho!_

_Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-ho!_

"Come on everyone! Join in!" Ed cheerfully suggested that the others join in on the fun as a single spotlight suddenly shined down on the rest of the kids ultimately forcing them to join in.

_**Violet: **__What makes nanny's laugh until it hurts?_

_**Pig-Pen: **__What gets grannies kicking up their skirts?_

_**Linus And Lucy: **__Where do babies dance before they crawl?_

_**Everyone: **__It's Sparkyville's Annual Christmas Ball!_

_Food and friendship._

_Wine and song._

_No one turned a way!_

_(No one turned a way.)_

_We look forward all year long to Christmas Eve when-_

_**Ashlynn: **__Mayor F puts every penny toward the joy and good of many._

_**Boys And Men: **__Haberdashers dashing down the beer._

_**Girls And Women: **__Porters courting any girl who's near._

_**Everyone: **__Maids and masters dancing wall to wall._

_**Ashlynn: **__It's Sparkyville's Annual Christmas Ball!_

"Now this is what I call a Christmas Ball!" Ed happily exclaimed at the sight of the crowd now getting more into the spirit of things before he turned towards the musicians and enthusiastically commanded "You boys don't stop playing until you're arms and limbs fall apart!" to which the band cheerfully nodded their heads and continued playing while Ed,Ashlynn and the beagles jumped off the stage and joined the rest of the gang down below.

"Gee it's about time this crowd lightened up a bit and actually started to have a party." Peppermint Patty remarked in awe that it took this long for the crowd to actually start partying around as Ashlynn chuckled and playfully retorted "Well that's the thing about some parties,sometimes it takes someone stepping out and starting the whole thing by themselves." before Ed nodded his head and smugly suggested "Speaking of which,shouldn't we join in as well?"

Sometime later the gang was standing around by the snack table with what looked like small glasses of wine in their hands as Charlie Brown looked down at the dark purple liquid and timidly asked "Ed are you sure that we really should be drinking this?" before Marcie added much calmer and collected "We are WAY under the age of twenty one to be drinking this stuff." to which Ed merely shrugged his arms and persisted that they do it anyway "Well we're basically at a fancy party for the adults anyway,so why don't we try to blend in? Cheers?"

After a few more moments of dead silence from the others,Linus finally broke the silence and reluctantly obliged "Cheers." before he and the rest of the gang clanged their glasses and took a swig of their wine,only for almost all of them to immediately spit them out as they and the animals grabbed their throats and all exclaimed in disgust "BLAHHHHH!" before Charlie Brown groaned and remarked in a nearly nauseous tone of voice "Yeah I think I'll take a root beer instead."

"Why do people drink this stuff? It's repulsive!" Lucy fiercely wondered in bewilderment that anyone would drink wine given how bad it tasted to her as Ed merely shrugged his arms and politely replied "Oh well,suit yourselves then." before he and Ashlynn clanged their glasses and finished off their drinks with one sip,much to the awe of the others as they quickly got themselves mugs of root beer to wash down the wretched taste of wine.

_(Ra-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-ho!)_

_(Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-ho!)_

A little while later,Snoopy was busy playing a friendly little game of cards with some of the party goers at a small table in the lamp lit corner while Woodstock,Amy,Jasper and the rest of his family watched,and it seemed that Snoopy was about to use a special set of cards he had in particular to win the entire game as he evilly snickered and thought to himself with a twisted smile while he lay down his cards _"Here's the world famous poker champion about to rise up to his long time rivals and win himself yet another-"_

*SMACK!*

However it was then that Snoopy's egotistical monologuing was suddenly interrupted when one of the enemy players miraculously threw the entire box of cards right at his face and knocked him straight down onto the floor with a loud and crashing thud while the player stormed off in a frenzy,all the while the beagle's siblings looked at their brother with contempt as Olaf stated in confusion _"I don't know what just happened to make that guy quit like that." _before Spike added equally as bewildered _"I just can't tell if he did that because he lost or if he won and wanted to rub it in our brother's face." _to which Marbles chuckled and jokingly retorted _"Well let's just be glad that it wasn't one of us instead."_

_(Sparkyville's Annual Christmas.)_

Sometime later everyone was out on the dance floor in the middle of the chapel and either participating in the dancing or just watching from the sidelines,and it seemed that Scheroeder and Lucy were part of the later category as the boy merely tapped his feet to the music while Lucy politely asked "Oh Scheroder,wouldn't you like another dance like we did in those caves?" only for the boy to turn towards her and nonchalantly decline "That was a rare exception,otherwise musicians like me do not dance." to which the girl grew a slightly annoyed look on her face and folded her arms in frustration while Peppermint Patty and Snoopy,Marcie and Charlie Brown,Rebecca and Ed,Ashlynn and Shermy,and even Sally and Linus continued to mingle on the dance floor.

_**Everyone But Lucy: **__Ra-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat!_

_Ra-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat!_

_**Boys And Men: **__Peace to all who've come to make a call!_

_**Everyone: **__It's Sparkyville's Annual Christmas Ball._

"You know Charles,sometimes I forget that you ain't half bad a dancer." Marcie politely complimented Charlie Brown on his dancing skills as the boy got a little red in the face and meekly tried to compliment her too "I could honestly say the same to you Marcie. You're honestly a very good dancer actually." to which the girl turned a little red in the face herself and quickly kissed him on the cheek,making him blush even more intensely than before.

"So how you liking the ball so far?" Ed cheerfully asked Rebecca for her thoughts on the ball while he and her slowly continued to dance as the girl happily retorted "Oh I've been loving it Ed,despite the frankly sour taste of the wine,and honestly I think I could say that for this winter as a whole,and I think it has a lot to do with you being here." to which the boy blushed a little and chuckled in response "And I can one hundred percent say the same thing to you. Don't tell Herman and the crew I said this,but this is probably the best Christmas I've ever had in my life." before Rebecca nodded her head and quietly reassured him that she wouldn't tell them a thing "Don't worry,it'll be our little secret."

Afterwards everyone else in the chapel including the rest of the gang and the animals decided that this was the perfect time to storm the dance floor and finally close off the ball with a huge bang.

_Ra-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-ho!_

_Ra-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-ho!_

_Ra-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-ho!_

_Ra-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-ho!_

_Hearts are beating,cheeks are turning red!_

_Dancing,laughing,welcome and well-fed!_

_**Ashlynn And Ed: **__Such a glad time had by one and all!_

_**Charlie Brown: **__It's the finest ball I can recall._

_**Freida: **__And for joy the price is always small._

_**Everyone: **__It's Sparkyville's._

_**Snoopy: **__Sparkyville's. _

_**Snoopy's Siblings: **__Sparkyville's._

_**Everyone: **__Annual._

_**Snoopy: **__Annual._

_**Snoopy's Siblings: **__Annual._

_**Everyone: **__Christmas Ball!_

_Ra-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat….ho!_

"**Mr Fezziwig's Annual Christmas Ball 2004 TV Version." Copyright Of JAY Productions. Music By Alan Menken And Lyrics By Lynn Ahrens.**

**Author's Note**

**I never wanna have to type "ra-ta-ta." this many times ever again.**


	20. Chapter 20: Counting Down

Chapter 20: Counting Down

As the ball seemingly continued to go on and on with seemingly no visible end in sight,things finally started to slow down and ease to a crawl after a little while longer as many of the guests slowly but surely started to head on home for the night,and the more people left,the more things calmed and quieted down. Pretty soon the only ones that were left were the Peanuts gang along with Ashlynn,and it seemed that the formers were finally about to head on home as they decided to bid Ashlynn farewell for the time being while they stood outside by the bus.

"Well it was certainly nice seeing you again after all this time Ashlynn,feel free to stop on by the cabin sometime if you really want to." Ed sighed and cheerfully bid Ashlynn farewell for the night while he and her shook hands for a brief moment before she lightly chuckled and also bid the gang goodbye in response "It was absolutely lovely to see you again too Ed,and it was nice to meet the lot of y'all as well. It's been ages since I've been around other kids my age or even any animals,what with my father homeschooling me and all,and I do hope y'all are able to pay off the bank by Christmas Eve." to which Charlie Brown shuddered at the thought and timidly retorted as thoughts of the case's heavy weight crept into his mind "Me too Ashlynn,I just hope I'll be able to carry that thing all the way to the bank tomorrow,but speaking of which,I did have a good time meeting you tonight Ashlynn."

Afterwards Peppermint Patty nodded her head in agreement and jokingly remarked "Honestly I'd say if Ed and Rebecca weren't already hooked up,you two would perfectly go together like peanut butter and jelly." to which Ashlynn's eyes widened out of sheer surprise and frantically tried to refute that claim while she got bright red in the face "What? No,no,no,no I don't think that kind of relationship could possibly work between the two of us,besides I'm not really into…...boys if you know what I mean?" to which Ed lightly nodded his head and replied as he glanced over at Rebecca to the left "Yeah I know what you mean Ashlynn,besides,Rebecca is all I really need."

Rebecca as a result of this started to blush a little bit while Linus merely brushed all that aside and happily offered with a welcoming grin "Well if you really want to Ashlynn,maybe you could see if you and your father would like to come over for Christmas,or maybe Christmas Eve night even?" to which the girl lifted her eyes up and thought the proposition over for a few moments before she looked back down and enthusiastically agreed "You know,that actually would be quite nice,I'll just have to see if my father will be alright with it. Aside from the Christmas balls,he's not really the most social guy in the world."

"Ashlynn! Would you mind helping me here for a second?" The voice of none other than Ashlynn's father suddenly called out to her from the inside of the chapel as she immediately turned around and loudly responded "I'll be there in a second father!" before she turned back around to face the others and meekly excused herself with a nervous grin while she ran back inside "Well speak of the devil,I guess I better get going. Hopefully I'll see you all at Christmas!"

"Hopefully we'll see you too!" Ed loudly called out to Ashlynn in the hopes that he'd also see her around Christmas while Violet sternly added in agreement afterwards "Yeah so you better work on that hair of yours!" before Ashlynn finally vanished away from their sight,leaving only the Peanuts gang remaining outside as Freida grew a small smile and enthusiastically stated "You know,I actually wouldn't mind her coming over for Christmas too,or maybe even the New Years party as well." to which Lucy sighed and hopefully retorted "Well I suppose we'll just have to wait and see what her father thinks. She seems alright in my book,I just got to get used to the accent."

"Oh good grief look at the time!" Marcie suddenly exclaimed in a panic as the others turned towards her in a frenzy to see that she was looking down at her watch before she looked back up and nervously continued "I'm looking at my watch here and it says that it's almost 12:30 at night!" to which Sally gasped and frantically suggested "Oh man,we better get home then! We've never been out THIS late before!"

"I guess we must have lost track of the time." Shermy calmly remarked with the thought that they hadn't realized how long they were at the ball as Peppermint Patty merely shrugged her arms and tried to defend themselves "Hey I don't really blame us,we were having ourselves a blast in there. Although I have to admit,I am feeling a little tired." to which Snoopy nodded his head in agreement and loudly yawned afterwards before Patty Swanson rolled her eyes and meekly suggested "So I suppose we oughta be heading home now?"

"Sure thing,I could use a nap." Franklin yawned and nonchalantly agreed with the idea as he went ahead and already boarded the bus,with the rest of the gang shortly following afterwards,with the exception of Ed however who instead merely stopped in his tracks just as he stepped on the stairs leading on inside and quietly said to himself while he took one final glance at the chapel "See you soon Ashlynn." before he suddenly perked up and joined everyone else aboard when he heard and felt Snoopy start up the bus.

* * *

Aside from everyone bidding James farewell when they first dropped him off at his place of residence,the ride back to their general neighborhood from the chapel was mostly pretty quiet,for no one really had anything on their mind that warranted speaking that they hadn't already said earlier that day or even at the ball,instead all they mainly did was look out the windows and at the surprisingly clear sky that was filled with numerous stars. All except for Ed however who merely stared up ahead at the seat in front of him with a surprisingly somber and mellowed out look on his face,something majorly unexpected from someone of his general character.

Rebecca was very quick to notice this odd behavior coming from him in her peripheral vision as she leaned away from the window and asked with a concerned voice "Ed,what's wrong? You don't usually look like this." before the boy sighed and and politely explained what was going on,unaware that many of the others were now listening in due to the overwhelming silence "I was thinking about something back at the ball earlier,something that I didn't think you would have really thought about yet." to which Rebecca raised an eyebrow and timidly replied "W-What do you mean by that? Is there something going on?"

Afterwards Ed sat there in mostly complete silence for about the more seconds before he sat all the way up and clarified things "You know that I can't really stay in the same place for a long period of time,it's just part of my general character and nature,and back at the ball I was thinking ahead about when I would inevitably have to temporarily leave Sparkyville for my travels with Herman and my crew,but seeing as how me and you are…...together now,I don't want to feel like or come across as a deadbeat who's never around you know,because I know that you are a strong,extraordinary woman who knows full well what it's like for someone special to you to suddenly be gone,and...to be alone. I don't really want you to go through that for a second time,but back when I went to rescue you at the orphanage,you said it yourself right? How no one is ever really gone,like your parents?"

_**Ed: **__Do you ever lie,awake at night?_

_Just between the dark,and the morning light?_

_Searching for the things,you used to know,looking for the place where the lost things go?_

_**Linus: **__Do you ever dream or reminisce?_

_**Lucy: **__Wondering where to find what you truly miss?_

_**Marcie: **__Or maybe all those things,that you love so,are waiting in the place where the lost things go?_

_**Freida: **__Memories you've shared._

_**Violet: **__Gone for good you feared._

_**Scheroder: **__They're all around you still though they've….disappeared._

_**Peppermint Patty: **__Nothing's really left._

_**Patty Swanson: **__Or lost without a trace._

_**Kids: **__Nothing's gone forever only out of place._

_**Sally: **__So maybe now the dish,and my best spoon._

_Are playing hide and seek just behind the moon._

_**Pig-Pen: **__Waiting there until it's time to show._

_**Shermy: **__Spring is like that now._

_**Freida: **__Far beneath the snow._

_Hiding in the place where the lost things go._

It was at this point that little bits and particles of snow were starting to slowly float down from the sky outside,despite there not being a single cloud out.

_**Charlie Brown: **__When you close your eyes. _

_So sleep can come around. _

_For when you dream you find all that's lost….is found._

_Maybe on the moon,or maybe somewhere new._

_Maybe all you're missing lives inside of you._

_**Kids: **__So when you need his touch,and loving gaze._

"_Gone but not forgotten.",is the perfect phrase._

_Smiling from a star that he makes glow._

_Trust he's always there._

_Watching as you grow._

_Find him in the place where the lost things go._

"You see Rebecca? Even when I'm gonna be gone,it's not like I'll TRULY be gone at the same time? You know what I mean?" Ed turned towards Rebecca and lovingly asked with a heartfelt smile to which Rebecca smiled back and happily nodded her head in agreement.

_**Ed: **__Nothing's gone forever only...out of place._

_So when you need my touch,and loving gaze._

_**Rebecca And Ed: **__"Gone but not forgotten.",is the perfect phrase._

_**Ed: **__Smiling from a star,that I make glow._

_Trust I'm always there._

_Watching as you grow._

_Find me in the place-_

_**Everyone: **__where the lost things go._

Afterwards Rebecca slowly wiped a small tear that was building up in her left eye and leaned in on Ed's arm as she happily whispered to him "Ed,whenever you will have to leave Sparkyville,I will not be alone at all. I will not be alone anymore." before she had thoughts about everyone she had known and met up until that point enter her mind,because in the grander scheme of things,she was right.

* * *

Sometime later after everyone was individually dropped off at their homes including Charlie Brown and Sally,the former decided that he should go ahead and count all the money that they had tallied up from the concert despite how late at night it was. He thought that if he was gonna take the money to the bank and give it to James for him to add towards the debt paying fund,he might as well do it now so he wouldn't have to do it super early in the morning.

After changing into his pajamas and putting Jasper and his glass container in Sally's room so he wouldn't be kept up awake all night,Charlie Brown placed the incredibly heavy silver case of money down on his main working desk and murmured to himself as he sat down with a cup of coffee,a stack of paper and a couple number two pencils "Alright Charles,it's time to start counting,this will all be over soon."

_Raindrops keep fallin' on my head._

_And just like the guy whose feet are too big for his bed._

_Nothing seems to fit._

_Those raindrops are fallin' on my head,they keep fallin'._

_So I just did me some talkin' to the sun._

_And I said I didn't like the way he got things done._

_Sleepin' on the job._

_Those raindrops are fallin' on my head,they keep fallin'._

_But there's one thing,I know,the blues they send to meet me,won't defeat me._

_It won't be long till happiness steps up to greet me._

When the next day shortly but surely arrived,Charlie Brown headed out of his backyard and started to make his way towards the bank after he fed Snoopy and saw him,his siblings,Woodstock,Amy and Jasper playing a game of cards by the doghouse. He was now merely carrying the case of money on a small red pull wagon since it was certainly way too heavy for him to carry all the way to the bank on his own,which was kind of a refresher to him since the only other times he ever had to use the wagon was when he would take Snoopy to the vet whenever the family van was unavailable.

_Raindrops keep fallin' on my head._

_But that doesn't mean my eyes will soon be turnin' red._

_Cryin's not for me,'cause,I'm never gonna stop the rain by complainin'._

_Because I'm free,nothin's worryin' me._

_It won't be long till happiness steps up to greet me._

_Raindrops keep fallin' on my head._

_But that doesn't mean my eyes will soon be turnin' red._

_Cryin's not for me,'cause,I'm never gonna stop the rain by complainin'._

_Because I'm free,nothin's worryin' me._

Meanwhile everyone else in the gang was merely relaxing and doing what they normally did in their free time now that they had no real work to do for quite a while,which of course included Peppermint Patty and Franklin playing some hockey on the frozen pond while Marcie,Rebecca and now Ed merely watched from the sidelines and talked to eachother. Scheroder was getting in some well needed piano practice without the threat of Lucy bothering him endlessly,Lucy herself was giving the local kids some of her trademark "advice" from her psychology booth,and even Pig-Pen was making a dustman,which was really just an incredibly dirty snowman.

**Author's Note**

**I know I already used The Place Where Lost Things Go and it's reprise,but I love those songs too much to not use them again.**

"**The Place Where Lost Things Go." And "The Place Where Lost Things Go Reprise." Copyright Of Walt Disney Records. Music By Marc Shaiman And Lyrics By Scott Whitman.**

"**Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head." Copyright Of Gusto Records Inc. Written By Hal David And Burt Bacharach. Performed By B. J. Thomas.**


	21. Chapter 21: An Unexpected Surprise

Chapter 21: A Huge And Unexpected Surprise

After Charlie Brown had finally managed to make his way over to the bank on foot thanks to him having to carry the case of money by himself via a pull wagon,he wasted no time and immediately headed over to James's work office so he could count the money and hold onto it for safe keeping until they got all the money they needed,because surely they couldn't have made all that they needed from one mere concert,could they? James and Charlie Brown were both in his office and sitting at his main working desk,with the former taking a look at and counting all the money that had been tallied up the night before,while the latter merely sat across the desk and watched James do his work with an anxious yet simultaneously nervous look on his face,not to mention that neither of the boys said a single word to each other in the process and instead sat in complete silence.

After about ten long minutes of James counting the money and Charlie Brown having anxious and nervous thoughts about how much more they could have possibly needed swarm throughout his mind,the former seemed to have finally finished his job as he placed all the money back in the case,closed and placed it on the floor next to him while Charlie Brown meekly asked out of curiosity "S-so how much did we make James? How much more do we need?" to which the banker merely straightened out his slightly crooked glasses,clumped his hands together and replied while he strangely begun to grow a small smile "Charles…..I-I don't know how y'all did it but…..y'all have somehow managed to get yourself enough money."

Charlie Brown could feel his eyes widening and his stomach churning out of shock immediately after hearing that,there was no way that they could have already made enough money to get them out of the hole that the bank had dug for them as he timidly chuckled and stammered in disbelief "I-I'm sorry could you say that again? Because it sounds like you just said that we've already made all the money we needed?" only for James to merely shake his head and confirm that's what he did indeed say "That's literally what I just said Charles,including my own personal share,this is way more than enough to save your homes,the bank,and even the rest of the whole neighborhood as well. I guess our show last night was way bigger of a success than we initially thought."

"But-but I don't understand how,it was just one show that we did and we still have our last one to do on Christmas Eve night." Charlie Brown pondered in awe that they have already made all of the money they needed and more as James sighed and enthusiastically tried to rationalize things "Well I mean,the Sparkyville Community Theater has been closed down since The Great Depression due to everything that happened during that time and it hasn't reopened since,and I guess so many people were so starved for entertainment aside from movies that…..they all flocked over there the moment it opened back up." to which Charlie Brown slowly started to muster up a smile and murmured "I guess this means….we actually did it. We did it."

"I guess so,with all this money we've made it looks like the bank will not be going through another crisis like this ever again." James chuckled and cheerfully agreed with the boy as he got out of his chair and began to make his way to the front door while he dragged the heavy case across the floor to which Charlie Brown turned towards him and asked out of curiosity "So,I take it you're gonna hand it over to your father now?" before James suddenly stopped dead in his tracks just as he was about to open the door and head to his father's office.

Charlie Brown as a result of this started to feel a little unnerved as his smile slowly faded away into a concerned frown while he meekly questioned "That's what you plan on doing that right?" before James nodded his head and somberly clarified "Yes that's what I'm going to do but…..I'm also going to tell him about what I've been doing with y'all lately. Stealing the money,going to the Christmas ball at such a late time of night,and even partaking in the show." to which Charlie Brown lightly gasped and retorted "Hold on a second,you're just gonna tell your father about everything you've done?! Wouldn't he get furious at you for doing that and ESPECIALLY for going on stage with us?!"

"Yes I know that but,I-I gotta tell him the truth about it all at SOME point." James turned around and frantically tried to explain his reasoning for wanting to tell his father about all he's been secretly doing before he leaned on the back of the door and nervously continued "I mean I've been having to make up lies about where I've been going,why I'm showing up to supper late and,h-he's gonna found out the truth at some point anyway so…..I might as well do it now while I have the chance. But on the other hand I…...did all this just so he would be proud of me,all so I could save this place from going bankrupt,but what if he just sees me as a disappointment again for following my dream although be it for a short period of time? I want to tell him about it,about my REAL dream but….I also don't at the same time in fear of what he'd say."

_**James: **__Here comes a wave meant to wash me away._

_A tide that is taking me under._

_Broken again,left with nothing to say._

_My voice drowned out in the thunder._

_But I can't cry,and I can't start to crumble._

_Whenever they try to shut me or cut me down._

_I can't stay silent,though they wanna keep me quiet._

_And I tremble when they try it._

_All I know is I won't go speechless._

Charlie Brown sat there in mostly complete silence after hearing James's concerns about what could possibly happen if he told his father what he had been doing. James's father could either finally be proud of his son for doing and going through so much just to save the bank and prevent his livelihood from being completely destroyed,or he could just see him as a disappointment for going against his wishes and pursuing his dream of being a performer,it was certainly a lot for Charlie Brown to take in and think about and James even more so since he was starting to quietly tear up a little.

After about ten more seconds of dead silence coming from both of them,the round headed boy seemed to have finally come to a decision as he grew a faint smile,got out of his chair and tried to lift James's spirit up "You know James,if this is really what you want to do,then by all means you should,but I think the reason you haven't spoken up in so long is because you haven't really wanted to. He's your father and he loves you a lot I bet,and I think if you just told him how much you don't want this kind of life anymore and how you did so much with us just to save the bank,I think that's when he'd truly be proud of you." to which James wiped some of the tears from his eyes and meekly asked "You really think that?"

"Of course I do." Charlie Brown nodded his head and cheerfully reassured James that things would be okay for him before he continued slightly more somber "I mean,I used to not think too much of myself,if little at all even. I used to think that I was just a blockhead that couldn't do anything right for the life of him,but it was when I looked deeper and saw people like Rebecca,Snoopy,Marcie and Ed who truly care about me,it was like a full on wake up call for myself and everyone else. I think if you just give your father the wake up call HE needs,things will be a lot different for you in the best way possible." to which James's somber and nervous frown slowly but surely started to morph into a look of pure determination on his face as he looked up at the towering painting of his father behind his desk.

_**James: **__Written in stone,every rule,every word._

_Centuries old and unbedding._

_Stay in your place,better seen and not heard._

_Well now that story is ending._

'_Cause I,I cannot start to crumble._

_So come on and try,try to shut me and cut me down._

Afterwards James suddenly lifted the case of money right off the ground with a massively sudden increase in his general strength before he barged out the door to his office and quickly headed towards his father's office,with Charlie Brown happily following afterwards.

_I won't be silenced,you can't keep me quiet._

_Won't tremble when you try it._

_All I know is I won't go speechless._

_Speechless._

_So let the storm in,I cannot be broken._

_No I won't live unspoken._

_'Cause I know that I won't go speechless._

_Try to lock me in this cage,I won't just lay me down and die._

_I will take these broken wings,and watch me burn across the sky._

_And it echoes saying I won't be silenced! _

_No you will not see me tremble when you try it._

_All I know is I won't go speechless._

_Speechless._

'_Cause I'll breath,when they try to suffocate me._

_Don't you underestimate me._

_'Cause I know that I won't go speechless._

_All I know is I won't go speechless._

_Speechless!_

However James and Charlie Brown would suddenly stop dead in their tracks when they reached the doors to his father's office at the end of the long and unwinding hall as the latter patted James on the shoulder and encouragingly stated "Go on James,you got this." to which the former turned towards the boy and replied with a smile "I know,thanks Charles,for helping me see straight."

"No problem James,you helped us out with the show,so I'll help you out in return." Charlie Brown chuckled and nonchalantly brushed James's gratitude for the help aside before the latter knocked on the door three times and called out "Father,it's James! I need to talk to you about something!" before the voice of none other than his father responded from the other end "The door's open James! Come on in!" to which the boy deeply sighed for a few moments and opened the door,leaving only Charlie Brown waiting out in the hallway while the door slowly shut.

"**Speechless PT 1." and "Speechless PT 2." Copyright Of Walt Disney Records. Music By Alan Menken And Lyrics By Benj Pasek And Justin Paul.**


	22. Chapter 22: Anyone Can Do It

Chapter 22: Anyone Can Do It

So now that James had been given a special and honestly well needed prep talk courtesy of good ole Charlie Brown,the young banker had finally mustered up all the courage he needed to tell his father about everything he had been doing in secret which included going against his wishes and performing up on stage. Granted there was the possibility of James being seen as a disappointment yet again,but there was also the possibility of him being praised and renowned by his father for preventing the workspace from going bankrupt,but in the end only time would tell to see what would happen.

It was about fifteen minutes after James had stepped into his father's office and Charlie Brown was still waiting for him to come back out and tell him what had happened,unfortunately the wait alone was proving to be so long that the boy ended up falling asleep on the floor and a few feet away from the office,all the while the sun was slowing beginning to set outside. After about five more minutes Charlie Brown would finally be awoken when the door suddenly creaked open with a loud enough noise to awaken him as he perked up and quickly turned his head over to the door,where he saw nothing but what appeared to be James in front of the now closed door with the case in his hand along with his head strangely being hung low.

"Well,how did it go with him?" Charlie Brown yawned and meekly asked in a groggy tone of voice that suggested that he was still quite tired as he slowly stood up and walked over to James before the boy timidly explained what had happened while he lifted his head up to reveal a small yet simultaneously surprised smile "He's…..proud of me." to which Charlie Brown instantly grew a large smile and congratulated him for the achievement in a mixture of shock and awe "Really? He did,e-even after everything you did? Oh that's great James!"

"Yeah…...I can't believe it." James chuckled and stated a little awestruck himself that things ended up going as well as they did before he continued a little more calmed down while the two boys started to walk down the hallway "H-he was very confused and flabbergasted as to why I would steal money from the bank and go up on stage with you guys,but when he found out why I did that in the first place and when I told him that I didn't want this kind of life anymore,all that I had done didn't seem to matter to him anymore. All he really cared about was that me and the rest of y'all have saved the bank and that was enough for him to finally be proud of me,and he even said that I can continue to go up on stage now,even when y'all are done with the last show! Not to mention that there's plenty of money left over for the rest of us!" to which Charlie Brown cheerfully replied with an even bigger grin "Well that's absolutely amazing James. You've finally stood up to your father,he's proud of you for saving the bank with us,we got plenty of money left for us to spare,and you can finally pursue your true dream of being a performer. Let's say we head over to Joe's to celebrate?"

"Sure thing Charles. I could really go for a good burger right now." James nodded his head and enthusiastically agreed with the idea as he rubbed his growling stomach in anticipation to which Charlie Brown lightly chuckled and pondered "I'm sure wondering how everyone else is gonna react to this news. I'm sure they didn't even notice me heading down the street when I was on the way over here." before James shrugged his arms and nonchalantly guessed "I can safely say this,they're gonna flip when they find out we got all this leftover money to split."

* * *

So while Charlie Brown and James were on their way to Joe's to celebrate them making enough money to pay off their debt along with James's father finally being proud of him and allowing him to pursue his dream of being a stage performer,the rest of the gang had just finished having themselves some sundays over at Ace's and were wondering what they would do from there on as Peppermint Patty stretched out her arms and stated "Well I sure had a good time here today gang but,I was thinking of trying to get in some baseball practice with Chuck so he could prepare for the next season ahead of time,but I haven't seen him anywhere all day. Would any of y'all know where he is?" to which Marcie sighed and facepalmed in awe that Patty had already forgotten what he was doing and politely answered "Did you already forget what he said last night sir? He said that he was gonna count the money we tailed up and take it to the bank for James to keep safe."

"Yeah,because he felt that Linus shouldn't have to do all the counting for a second time after doing it when James gave us that loan of his." Freida nodded her head and confidently backed up Marcie's answer as Peppermint Patty got a little red in the face and calmly tried to defend herself "Well it's probably just a force of habit,I can't remember everything I hear you know." before Franklin rolled his eyes and jokingly whispered to Rebecca "I think that may explain all the C's and D's she used to get,you know before she actually started improving."

"Well do you think we should head over to the bank and see if he's alright?" Linus suddenly suggested that they go to the bank to see how Charlie Brown was doing as everyone raised an eyebrow at the thought while Lucy turned towards her brother and asked in response "Huh? Why on earth would we do that? It's not like I want him to get lost or something like that,but I think he can perfectly handle himself over there just fine for the time being." before Shermy suddenly showed a noticeable amount of support for the idea "Well I mean from our side of the neighborhood,it's a pretty long walk to the bank,but from over here it would only take about ten minutes I think. I don't think it'd hurt to take a little walk over there."

Now that Shermy had shown an indifferent yet still relatively supportive point of view on the situation,it seemed that allowed an opportunity for everyone else to have their say on the matter as Rebecca nodded her head and cheerfully stated "Besides it's not like we won't get anything out of it at all,we'll likely get ourselves a head start in seeing how much more money we need to make." before Violet also agreed in a much more calm tone of voice "Against my better sense of judgement,I suppose we could take a little walk to the bank to check up on things." to which Patty Swanson sighed and reluctantly agreed with the two girls "My parents were always saying that I should walk more to places instead of just taking a cab or bus. I guess I'll go."

"Me too." Pig-Pig smiled and enthusiastically obliged to go with the others to the bank before Scheroder,Freida,Franklin,Sally and Ed nodded their heads in agreement,leaving Lucy the only one who hadn't come to a definitive decision since Marcie,Peppermint Patty and the rest of the animals were likely gonna tag along anyway for the sake of it.

Everyone was now staring intently at Lucy and patiently waiting for her to give them some sort of answer on whether she would accompany them to the bank or not and after about ten more seconds,Lucy seemed to have finally come up with an answer as she sighed and reluctantly caved in "Oh alright I'll go,but only because I think the walking would be good for my natural beauty." before Ed suddenly joined in on the conversation and politely requested "Hold on a second fellers,how bout I give y'all a special proposition for something first?"

* * *

Everyone was certainly left a little confused by Ed's sudden desire to give them this "proposition" of his as they all turned to the right to face the hermit while Rebecca calmly asked out of curiosity "Proposition? What for sweetie?" to which Ed clasped his hands together and cheerfully explained himself while he sat on the hood of one of the nearby cars "So,you fellers all know that my lifestyle is uh…...different compared to most people. And seeing as how I managed to teach ole Chuck the ways of the wilderness quite some time ago,why don't I double dip and do the same to y'all on the way to the bank?"

Contrary to what Ed was expecting and even kind of hoping however,the rest of the gang didn't seem to have a definitive answer ready in store as they all merely stood outside of the ice cream shop in complete silence while Ed merely wore the same excited and cheerful grin he usually did before Freida finally broke the silence and politely tried to decline "Look Ed,I think you're a very sweet and helpful guy and all but….I don't think that could really work with all of us."

"Huh?" Ed raised an eyebrow and questioned in awe that they would refuse the offer as his dopey smile quickly regressed into a confused scowl before Sally suddenly added in agreement "Ed we're not really like you,we're normal kids,not hermits who have to live in the wilderness all the time." to which Linus nodded his head and also seemed to agree with Freida and Sally's refusal "And that's not to say that your lifestyle's a bad thing Ed,I just don't think we're all cut out for it."

"Besides I wouldn't want to get myself all dirty trying to put myself in your shoes. The hobo look is simply too much for me." Violet folded her arms and sternly refused to go along with Ed's idea to teach them the ways of his lifestyle as the hermit groaned and persisted while he jumped off the car roof "Oh come on gang,s-so what if you're just normal kids? Chuck was as normal as kids like you come and I trained him just fine. Besides I think these skills could be mighty useful for y'all the next time y'all get stuck in the wilderness on a camping trip...ala Camp Remote." to which Scheroder surprisingly agreed with the boy afterwards "I mean I hate to say it but,he may have a bit of a good point here. If he DID manage to teach Charlie Brown all that he knows,then he could certainly do a good job with the rest of us I think. And I definitely don't want to go through another situation where we get lost in the woods too."

It now seemed that Scheroder was the only one willing to go along with Ed's idea so far but the number of supporters would quickly go up to two when Peppermint Patty suddenly showed her support of the idea and enthusiastically obliged "You know what Ed,you are such a strange and bizarre kid that I kinda want to see how you typically do things. I'll bite." before Pig-Pen nodded his head and cheerfully added "You can count me in too Ed,I don't think a little dirt would hurt any of us anyway." to which Rebecca happily agreed afterwards while she lightly hugged her boyfriend "And I'll always be glad to join you Ed,you don't even need to ask me."

Ed as a result of the rapidly increasing number of supporters started to grow a small smile while he glanced over at Snoopy and the rest of the animals showing their support as well due to them miraculously changing into Beagle Scout clothing,including Spike,Olaf,Andy,Marbles and Belle despite them never actually being part of the scouts prior.

"You see gang? You don't need to be...weird like me to learn the ways of the wilderness." Ed happily and politely asked now that more of the gang was deciding to go along with his idea before he enthusiastically continued "I mean you could all be like…..say….the kids of Tsar Nicholas The Second and still be like me." to which Marcie raised an eyebrow and asked in awe of the reference that the boy had used "Tsar Nicholas The Second? And here I thought I was the only one who bothered to study Russian history around here." before Ed lightly chuckled and meekly explained himself "Well thanks to the library in the orphanage I told y'all about,you aren't. But the point still stands that you can all be like every one of them and still have it in you to be like me,anyone can do anything they want as long as they just believe that they can. Their social status to me don't mean anything."

Everyone else who had since declined then started to grow huge looks of uncertainty and guilt since they were clearly thinking the proposition over a second time while Ed pointed his finger up to the yellow/orange sky and politely requested "Look up there everyone,up at the clouds,and imagine what me and Marcie say,because again….you don't need to be weird like me in order to do the things I do." to which everyone including the naysayers from before did so,'cause it seemed that they have finally agreed to the idea due to the now heightened looks of determination on their faces.

_**Ed: **__Y'all were born in a palace by the sea._

_**Kids: **__A palace by the sea? Could it be?_

_**Ed: **__Yes that's right,y'all rode horseback when y'all were only three._

_**Lucy: **__Horseback riding? Me?_

_**Ed: **__And the horse-_

_**Marcie: **__he was white._

_**Ed: **__Y'all made faces and terrorized the cook._

_**Marcie: **__Threw him in the brook._

_**Kids: **__Were we wild?_

_**Marcie: **__Wrote the book._

_**Ed: **__But you'd behave when your father gave that look._

_**Marcie: **__Imagine how it was._

_**Ed: **__Your long forgotten pasts._

_**Marcie And Ed: **__We've lots and lots to teach you and the time is going fast._

"All right,fire away Ed!" Rebecca laughed and happily requested to which they all headed out to the bank while simultaneously performing their training with Ed,because pretty soon later they were all walking across a raging river in the woods by using a relatively thin log while Ed had already made it across.

_**Ed: **__Now shoulders back,and stand up tall,and do not walk but try to float._

_**Violet: **__I feel a little foolish,are we floating?_

_**Ed: **__Like a little boat. _

_You give a bow._

_**Lucy: **__What happens now?_

_**Ed: **__Your hands receive a kiss._

Snoopy and his siblings then proceeded to kiss everyone on the hand.

_**Ed And Marcie: **__Most of all remember this._

_**Ed: **__If I can learn to do it,you can learn to do it._

_**Scheroder: **__Something in you knows it._

_**Ed,Pig-Pen And Scheroder: **__There's nothing to it._

_**Ed: **__Follow in my footsteps,shoe by shoe._

_**Ed,Pig-Pen And Scheroder: **__You can learn to do it too._

Pretty soon everyone was now using a large wooden raft that they had quickly built to traverse and follow the river while they acted like how they would if they were actually kids of the Tsar.

_**Ed: **__Now elbows in,and sit up straight._

_**Marcie: **__And never slurp the stroganoff._

_**Sally: **__I've never cared for stroganoff._

_**Franklin: **__She said that like a Romanov._

_**Marcie: **__The samovar._

_**Ed: **__The caviar._

_**Kids: **__Dessert and then goodnight?_

_**Ed And Marcie: **__Not until you get this right._

_**Ed: **__If I can learn to do it._

_**Peppermint Patty: **__(If he can learn to do it.)_

_**Ed: **__You can learn to do it._

_**Peppermint Patty: **__(You can learn to do it.) _

_**Ed: **__Pull yourself together._

_**Ed And Peppermint Patty: **__And you'll pull through it._

_**Ed: **__Tell yourself it's easy._

_**Ed And Peppermint Patty: **__And it's true,you can learn to do it too._

_**Ed: **__Next we memorize the names of the royalty._

_Now here we have Kropotkin._

_**Marcie: **__Shot Potemkin._

_**Ed: **__In the Botkin._

_**Kids: **__Oh!_

_**Ed: **__And dear old uncle Vanya,loved his vodka._

_**Marcie: **__Got it ganga?_

_**Kids: **__No?_

_**Ed: **__The Baron Pushkin._

_**Kids: **__He was-_

_**Marcie: **__Short!_

_**Ed: **__Count Anatoly._

_**Kids: **__Had a-_

_**Marcie: **__Wart!_

_**Ed: **__Count Sergei._

_**Marcie: **__Wore a feathered hat._

_**Ed: **__I hear he'd gotten very fat._

_**Rebecca: **__And I recall his yellow cat!_

_**Olaf: **__I don't believe they told her that._

After they had reached the point of the river where a small beaver dam had gotten in the way,they had decided to merely take the rest of the journey on foot as they exited the woods and headed back to the city streets.

_**Kids: **__If you can learn to do it,we can learn to do it._

_**Ed: **__Don't know how you knew it._

_**Kids: **__We simply knew it._

_Suddenly we feel like someone new._

_**Ed And Marcie: **__Gang you're a dream come true!_

_If I can learn to do it._

_**Kids: **__(If I can learn to do it.)_

_**Ed And Marcie: **__You can learn to do it._

_**Kids: **__(You can learn to do it.)_

_**Ed: **__Pull yourself together._

_**Everyone: **__And you'll pull through it._

_**Ed: **__Tell yourself it's easy._

_**Everyone: **__And it's true._

_**Ed,Marcie,Scheroder And Pig-Pen: **__You can learn to do it._

_**Kids: **__Nothing to it._

_**Everyone: **__You can learn to do it too!_

"**Learn To Do It." Copyright Of Atlantic Records. Written By Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty.**


	23. Chapter 23: A Dropped Bombshell

Chapter 23: A Dropped Bombshell

After Ed had decided to give the rest of the gang a brief yet still relatively intriguing training lesson on how to survive in the wilderness like he typically did while unintentionally adding in a history lesson in regards to the Romanov family with Marcie's help on the way to the bank,they had all decided to cut it off for the evening and head the rest of the way on foot after their raft crashed into a beaver dam,along with Ed even offering to fix up the dam for the frankly furious beavers one day.

It was around 7:00 in the evening and the gang was continuing to walk down the sidewalk and make their way towards the bank,all the while Ed seemed to be having a light conversation with the others as he enthusiastically stated "And that's what you do if you want to fish in the winter,you don't go to the frozen lake,you just go to the river where the ice is broken and spaced out so you can actually be done in less than a day." before Freida softly gasped and pondered in awe "Really Ed? Because my dad always goes out to the lake in the morning to fish during the winter and he always comes home at night with a few little prizes." to which Ed suddenly turned around and poked her on the head while he frantically retorted "Aha! Those are the key words right there Freida,morning,night,few and little. But if you just do what I do and head out to the river,you'll bring home the BIG guns in less than an HOUR,and Herman and the rest of the crew can back that up when they get back."

"I-I suppose I'll take your word on that then Ed." Freida nervously gulped and meekly believed Ed's claims about fishing before Linus rolled his eyes and politely showed his gratitude for the training exercise they had gone through "Well thanks again for the training Ed,I guess it wasn't as bad and impossible as I thought it would be." to which Peppermint Patty nodded her head and cheerfully added in agreement while she slapped Ed on the back "It almost makes me want to go back in time to Camp Remote and make those bullies shiver in fear and awe of us."

"Well I guess that you'll get your chance to do so when summer rolls around sir,I just hope those buffoons don't show up again in the first place." Marcie sighed and calmly retorted in the hopes that the bullies wouldn't show up again when they would have to go to Camp Remote for the summer before Violet suddenly perked up and asked in a slightly bitter tone of voice "You know that just reminded me Marcie,did you and Ed really have to hammer in the history lesson as much as y'all did? We're supposed to be on break from school remember?" to which Marcie got slightly red in the face and admitted a little awestruck herself "I suppose we did get a little carried away with the history allegories…...don't let us do that again."

"Cross my heart,and hope to die." Lucy instantly agreed to try and prevent Marcie and Ed from pulling another educational stunt like that a second time as she made a crossing motion across her chest while Shermy brushed the moment aside and remarked in a tired tone of voice "I'm starting to think this walk wasn't such a good idea,my feet are really starting to get sore. I hope we come across Charlie Brown soon." before the voice of Charlie Brown suddenly called out in confusion from up ahead "Shermy? Guys? What are y'all doing out here?"

Everyone immediately redirected their attention over to the north afterwards to see none other than Charlie Brown and oddly enough James a few feet away from them with the case in the latter's hand as Linus sighed and explained themselves while he and the others walked up to the two boys "Well we just noticed that you were gone all day and decided to head over to the bank to see how you were doing." before Sally nodded her head and sternly added "Yeah,your little sister had to come all the way out here to check up on you,and of course you were safe and sound all along. What a waste of time."

"Hey it wasn't a complete waste Sally,we still learned all those survival skills from Ed." Peppermint Patty scoffed and enthusiastically tried to lighten up Sally's frankly frustrated mood as Charlie Brown raised an eyebrow and retorted in confusion "Huh? Survival skills? I'm very confused." before Violet sighed in annoyance and clarified things for the round headed boy while she pointed her finger at Ed "Your little survival buddy over here decided that we should try to learn how he does things out in the wilderness while we were leaving Ace's."

"Yeah,just in case we ever find ourselves getting lost in the woods again like at camp." Schroeder nodded his head and confidently backed up Violet's statement as Ed patted Charlie Brown on the shoulder and enthusiastically added "Yup I sure did alright,the same exact skills that I taught you after you fell out of that tree." to which Lucy folded her arms and bitterly remarked "Not to mention that he and Marcie somehow managed to shove in a history lesson about Tsar Nicholas The Second by having us act like his kids. It was something to do with him saying that we didn't need to be like him in order to learn to live like him or something like that."

"Mmm-hmm,and it certainly resulted in my head hurting due to all the royal names we had to memorize. It puts history class to shame." Pig-Pen added in a slightly tired and sore tone of voice as he rubbed his head in pain before Peppermint Patty brushed the frankly tiring experience with all the memorizing they had to do aside and sternly retorted "Well what mainly matters here is that Chuck's alright and not stuck in a frozen ditch or something,but that also reminds me of something else,what are YOU doing out here with that case James? I thought you'd be back at that lame office of yours."

Afterwards James's calm yet mostly confused frown slowly but surely started to morph into an excited and cheerful smile while he happily replied "Oh you guys are not gonna believe this,but here it goes. Not only did you all make way more than enough money to save your homes and the bank last night,not only is there at least a thousand dollars in this case for all of us split,and not only is my father finally proud of me for something after all these years…but he also said that I don't have to go to the bank anymore and can live out my dream as a performer!" to which the rest of the gang aside from Charlie Brown gasped in a mixture of shock and confusion which was quickly followed by them all cheering in excitement as Snoopy,his siblings,Woodstock,Amy and Jasper began to dance with Ed,Rebecca and Sally.

"Woah! Really?! That's a straight up Christmas miracle right there!" Peppermint Patty laughed and cheerfully exclaimed in awe as she grabbed James by the head and gave him a noogie while Linus ran up to Charlie Brown and happily remarked "Can you believe this Charlie Brown?! I knew we could do it!" to which the boy chuckled and gleefully retorted "Believe me we were just as shocked when we found all this out too!" before Violet suddenly quelled the erupting sounds of the gang's cheers and suggested "Well what are we all just standing out here for? Dinner at Joe's on me and then a party at my place! Come on gang!"

Afterwards the gang cheered once again in excitement and proceeded to make their way to Joe's Cafe to celebrate their victory,Peppermint Patty was right,this was a Christmas miracle.

_Come together one and all,in the giving spirit._

_Gifts abound here great and small,joyously we feel it._

_Blessings sent to us from above,guide us on way._

_We raise our voice as we rejoice,bow our head and pray._

_A miracle has just begun._

_God bless us everyone!_

_To the voices no one hears,we have come to find you._

_With your laughter and your tears,goodness,hope and virtue._

_Father,mother,daughter,son,each a treasure be._

_One candle's light dispels the night,now our eyes can see._

_Burning brighter than the sun._

_God bless us everyone!_

_(A miracle has just begun.)_

_God bless us everyone!_

_Come together one and all,in the giving spirit._

_Gifts abound here great and small,joyously we feel it._

_Father,mother,daughter,son,each a treasure be._

_(One candle's light dispels the night,now our eyes can see.)_

_Burning brighter than the sun._

_God bless us everyone!_

_(A miracle has just begun.)_

_God bless us everyone!_

"**God Bless Us Everyone." Copyright Of Walt Disney Records. Written By Alan Silvestri and Glen Ballard. Performed By Andrea Bocelli.**


	24. Chapter 24: New Cast Members!

Chapter 24: New Cast Members?!

It was a miracle. That was the only thing that could explain what had just happened to everyone in the Peanuts gang,after being faced with the major possibility of them losing all their homes and becoming homeless if they couldn't pay the bank all the money they needed by midnight on Christmas Eve,it turned out that their first show at the community theater downtown was such a huge success that they ended up making WAY more than enough money than they actually needed and ended up splitting the rest of it between themselves. It was absolutely astonishing for them to think that they no longer had to worry about becoming homeless and that they could just go back to enjoying their winter vacation like normal kids would,aside from the fact that there was still their last show to prepare for that would be held on Christmas Eve night however.

After the gang had rightfully celebrated their monumental achievement with a quick stop at Joe's and party at Violet's place of residence,along with them spending the next few days either relaxing at home,playing out in the snow,getting in some hockey practice on the frozen pond,or just straight up sleeping most of the day in Snoopy and his siblings' case,they all decided to head on back to the theater two days before Christmas Eve like they had agreed and started production for their next and final show.

Luckily the actual planning of the show seemed to be going by even smoother than before,due to the fact that they already had their costumes ready to use and could just remodel or slightly alter some of the leftover cardboard from the last show and pass them off as new sets,the only real new things that they ended up working on were Snoopy,his siblings and Scheroder writing a new batch of songs while Lucy proceeded to direct and manage all their upcoming performances,and of course it was all because she SAID she was the director.

"Well it looks like things are gonna go smoother than we thought. Half the work we need to do here is already done." Sally cheerfully remarked in a enthusiastic tone of voice while she,Charlie Brown,Linus and Marcie were sitting on the stage;cleaning the paint off some of the cardboard and painting it over with new artwork for the next show before the latter straightened out her slightly crooked glasses and calmly retorted "I think that may have something to do with us already having all the assets we need,it's just the matter of altering them a little for the next show."

"Yeah,I think all the real new stuff we're doing today are Snoopy and Scheroder's songs,and James,Violet,the birds,Spike,Olaf,Andy,Marbles and Belle are putting up some Christmas decorations all over the auditorium." Charlie Brown nodded his head and nonchalantly added as he glanced over at the entirely empty auditorium to see Christmas decorations of all sorts strung across the ceiling and walls such as green reefs with red bows tied around them and some golden aluminum stars.

Afterwards Franklin suddenly walked up to the four kids with a clipboard in his right hand and enthusiastically remarked "All right,with the way things are going it looks like we'll all be done in no time,if we're lucky all we need to do tomorrow is get in a little more rehearsal practice." before Linus sighed and hopefully retorted while he and the others stood up and set aside some of their painting materials on the ground "Yeah I guess so Franklin,as long as we move fast and don't have any major surprises in store that could derail the whole situation."

"Hey don't jinx us like that." The voice of Lucy miraculously joined in on the conversation in a very stern tone of voice as she,Peppermint Patty and the rest of the gang came walking onto the stage from behind the curtain while a slightly more calm and collected Scheroder added "The last thing we need right here is another set of problems for us to deal with,let alone three days before Christmas." to which Rebecca scoffed and politely disagreed "Oh come on Scheroder,we've already dealt with the bank and every little trick they have up their sleeves. We'll be perfectly fine."

"Absolutely,I don't see any other potential surprises coming our way in the future considering that all of your debts have been paid." The voice of James suddenly joined in on the conversation as everyone turned their heads over to the empty isles of seats to see that he,Woodstock,Amy,the rest of the birds and Snoopy's siblings had taken a break from putting up the Christmas decorations and had joined the rest of the gang up on the stage before Peppermint Patty nodded her head and enthusiastically asked the others in response "You see gang? There's nothing here to worry about,what in the world could possibly happen?"

However it was right then and there that the gang's conversation about any potential new surprises that were in store for them would be quickly cut off short when the front doors swung right open immediately after Peppermint Patty's question and was instantly followed up by a very familiar voice ecstatically yelling for the whole auditorium to hear "HELLO EVERYBODY!" to which everyone turned their heads over to the entrance to see none other than Ashlynn in a light blue sweater,pair of baggy sweatpants and topped off with a blue pair of sandals.

"ASHLYNN?!" The entire gang gasped and exclaimed in awe and confusion at the sight of seeing Ashlynn at the auditorium with them before Ed jumped down from the stage and added equally as confused "W-What on earth are you doing over here?" to which the girl nonchalantly explained herself while she began to head towards the stage "Oh I was just planning on stopping by for a quick little visit. It's not every day I get to visit big time theater stars like yourselves. Also-"

"Do you want a part to play,is that why you're here?" Lucy suddenly asked in a slightly annoyed and cynical tone of voice as Patty Swanson raised an eyebrow and questioned in slight confusion "Huh? What do you mean by that Lucy?" before the former facepalmed and retorted slightly more stern "Oh good grief,it's completely obvious that's why she's here in the first place. So do you want one or not because we have a bit of a tight schedule here?"

Ashlynn however merely kept herself completely silent as the rest of the gang stared at her in anticipation for at least ten seconds before the girl shrugged her arms and admitted "Alright,you caught me,I do kind of want a part in your show. You see I was just laying down in my bed last night when it suddenly hit me like a train dead on." to which Charlie Brown nervously chuckled and timidly replied "Well,uh,that's great and all but…...we kinda need to know how you are as a signer first." before Linus nodded his head and politely agreed with the boy "Yeah,I think we should test your vocal chops first and see what you can do."

"Oh believe me,Ashlynn right here is top tier. She was always a killer over at the orphanage and could wipe the floor in any competition." Ed laughed and confidently praised Ashlynn's singing skills ahead of time as he patted her on the shoulder while Lucy merely rolled her eyes and moaned "Well it's good to see that YOU think she's good Ed,but we still need to see how she is before we can let her in." to which Ashlynn pulled Ed's hand off her shoulder and happily obliged to show the others her supposed singing skills "It's alright everyone,I'll gladly give you all a demonstration."

Everyone's attention was now fully directed over to Ashlynn and they all sported looks of intrigue and curiosity on their faces with the exception of Ed,who merely wore a smug and egotistical grin as Ashlynn took a deep breath and cleared her throat while Snoopy and his siblings suddenly brought out tubs of popcorn.

_**Ashlynn: **__How does a moment last forever?_

_How can a story never die?_

_It is love,we must hold onto,never easy,but we try._

_Sometimes our happiness is captured._

_Somehow our time and place stand still._

_Love lives on inside our hearts and always will._

_Minutes turn to hours,days to years then gone._

_But when all else has been forgotten,still our song lives on._

_Maybe some moments weren't so perfect._

_Maybe some memories not so sweet._

_But we have to know some bad times,or our lives are incomplete._

_Then when the shadows overtake us._

_Just when we feel all hope is gone._

_We'll hear our song and know once more,a love lives on._

_Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh._

_Ohhhhhhhh._

_Ohhhhhhhh._

_Ohhhhhhhh._

_Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh._

_How does a moment last forever?_

_How does our happiness endure?_

_Through the darkest of our troubles,love is beauty,love is pure._

_Love pays no mind to desolation._

_It flows like a river through the soul._

_Protects,proceeds and perseveres,and makes us whole._

_Minutes turn to hours,days to years then gone._

_But when all else has been forgotten,still our song lives on._

_How does a moment last forever?_

_When our song lives on._

* * *

Everyone was left absolutely astonished and in awe of Ashlynn's impeccable talent for singing and they didn't say a single word to the girl due to how awestruck they were as the girl got a little red in the face and timidly asked "Well? What do you think?" to which Charlie Brown finally snapped out of his bewildered daze and happily stammered "Well,uh,that was really something right there. That was really good Ashlynn." before Freida nodded her head and politely agreed "Absolutely Charlie,you really do have a commendable knack for singing Ashlynn."

"You see? I told y'all she was good." Ed chucked and asked with the same smug grin from before as Lucy grew a small smile and couldn't help but admit that Ashlynn's singing was well done herself "You know I have to admit,you ain't half bad Ashlynn. I suppose it wouldn't hurt to have you be a part of the show,what do you think everyone?" to which everyone instantly started showing their support for Ashlynn's inclusion in the show over each other.

"Alright I guess it's settled then,welcome aboard Ashlynn." Charlie Brown happily announced as he and Ashlynn shook hands with each other while everyone else lightly clapped in support,making the newcomer blush yet again as she meekly thanked the gang for their support "Thanks a lot everyone,I'll do me best not to be a burden on you all." to which Pig-Pen chuckled and joked in response "Well considering how many of us there already are,I don't think that's really gonna matter in the grander scheme of things."

After everyone had a quick little laugh in response to Pig-Pen's joke,Linus decided to bring the conversation back to Ashlynn's involvement in the show as he happily asked "So Ashlynn uh,what would you like Snoopy to write for you? Since he's our main lyricist in charge of the musical numbers and all?" to which the beagle stepped forth and graciously bowed in front of the girl,making the rest of his siblings roll their eyes at the display.

Ashlynn however wasn't exactly too keen on having Snoopy write a song for her as she merely shook her head and politely refused "Oh that won't exactly be necessary,you see I already have a song for me written in store,it's a song about me home country Scotland. And even though I've never actually been over there,I sure wish to go there someday,also I would prefer it if I kept me performance a secret,I'm more of a surprise kind of girl." to which Lucy raised an eyebrow and reluctantly obliged in slight confusion "Well alright then if you insist,we already know your singing's gonna be on point anyway so there's really nothing to worry about. Besides it's not like we have to worry about anymore last minute newcomers."

However Lucy's statement about them not having to worry about anymore last minute newcomers would quickly be proven wrong when Snoopy suddenly cleared his throat in the loudest way possible,making it abundantly clear that he wanted to have a part in the show aside from being a backup dancer as Lucy groaned and remarked in annoyance "Ugh,me and my big mouth! You want a part of your own too?!" before the beagle nonchalantly nodded his head in response,pointed over at Ed and made a quick arm motion for the boy to come over to him to which the hermit politely did so. Once Ed had reached Snoopy and kneeled down to him so they would be more comparable in their size,the beagle then proceed to whisper something into the boy's ear while the others merely watched with intrigue and in Lucy's case,dread of what the beagle potentially wanted out of his performance.

After about thirty more seconds of Ed listening in on what Snoopy had to say thanks to him being a very fluid animal whisperer,the boy finally stood up and calmly announced to the rest of the gang "Snoopy says that he would like himself,Woodstock,Amy,Jasper and his siblings to have their very own performance during the show,otherwise he will quit and eat all the song sheets." to which Lucy gasped and firmly retorted in anger "Eat the song sheets?! You're threatening us! Why I oughta-"

"Just let them in Lucy. Whatever we do there's no stopping him from trying to sneak into school with us,so I think we should just save us the hassle and let them in." Charlie Brown suddenly interrupted Lucy's angry ranting and suggested that they let the animals have their desired performance to which the director thought the idea over for a few moments before she finally agreed to let the animals do their own thing "Oh alright,alright,but you animals all have to do your OWN rehearsing,while we do our own!"

Immediately after hearing that they could have their own role in the show other than just being backup dancers,Snoopy,his siblings,Woodstock,Amy and Jasper proceeded to happily dance and laugh with each other while the rest of the kids rolled their eyes at the sight and headed back to the stage to get back to the preparations.

"_Were you really gonna quit and eat all of the song sheets if she rejected your offer?" _Marbles chuckled and asked his brother if he was really gonna do what he said he was gonna do out of curiosity before Snoopy shook his head and retorted _"No not really,I probably would have just suggested that we kiss her enough times so she'd crack." _to which Spike,Marbles and Andy started cracking up at the seams while Belle quietly whispered to Olaf in awe _"With how calmly he said that,it sounds like he does this kind of thing often." _

"_And so it is time for Cuban Beagle to make his worldwide debut." _Snoopy confidently stated in an enthusiastic and excited tone of voice as he and the rest of the animals followed the kids over to the stage to continue the preparations. Now that Ashlynn and the animals were slated to join the show and it's already impressive lineup of performances,it was pretty safe to say that this show in particular would be the stuff of legends.

"**How Does A Moment Last Forever?" Copyright Of Walt Disney Records. Music By Alan Menken And Lyrics By Tim Rice.**


	25. Chapter 25: Christmas Eve Preparations

Chapter 25: Christmas Eve Preparations

This was it,this was finally it,the day of the Peanuts gang's final crescendo as some of Sparkyville's most famous performers since the community theater ever first opened its doors,not to mention that it was also Christmas Eve as well,the day before Christmas itself and generally a massive buildup for the holiday to trump all holidays. What was originally supposed to be a last resort for the gang if they were somehow unable to make enough money from their first show to pay off the bank,was now just a fun side activity for all of them to do since they actually DID succeed in that endeavor and came out on top. It was an absolutely beautiful Christmas Eve morning in Sparkyville,the sky was bright yellow and orange without a single cloud in the sky,lots and lots of snow was slowly falling down and filling up the streets and fields,and many kids had already decided to head on outside and have themselves some fun in the snow while their parents most likely went out to get in some last minute Christmas shopping or pick up visiting relatives.

Charlie Brown and Sally meanwhile were both sitting at the back end of the bus along with Woodstock,Amy,Jasper,Spike,Olaf,Andy,Belle and Marbles while Snoopy started to drive through the calm and peaceful neighborhood with the intent to pick up the rest of the gang and take them over to the theater so they could finish the preparations for the night's upcoming show.

As the only two kids on the bus looked out the window and saw just how much of a nice day it was shaping up to be weather wise,Sally turned towards her brother and happily exclaimed "Can you believe this big brother? It's already Christmas Eve,just one more day to go and Santa Claus and his trusty reindeer will have stopped on by our lovely abode." to which the boy raised an eyebrow and lightly chuckled "Oh,it seems that you have finally gotten his name right after all this time,just don't mention it around Linus considering his attitude towards the guy."

"Oh believe I won't,if he wants to indulge in his little Great Squash fantasy for the rest of his life,then that's all up to him,not judging him openly by the way." Sally nodded her head and gladly agreed to not mention the fat man's name around the Great Pumpkin's biggest fan before Charlie Brown looked out the window once again and cheerfully remarked "You know whenever I look back at how I was feeling about Christmas that one year,I always have to wonder what in the world I was thinking. Sure you can argue that Christmas has become over commercialized in the last decade but,to be honest as long as people like us can keep the spirit of it alive to some capacity,I could honestly care less. Besides,everyone's gonna be coming over for a small little get together after the show including Ashlynn and her father if she can convince him to get out of his house,this Christmas is gonna be nothing short of great."

_**Charlie Brown: **__Oh what a day I don't care if it's gray if it's Christmas together._

_People could say we're the luckiest family in town._

_Mother is making a perfect feast,and wearing her loviestly gown._

_**Charlie Brown And Sally: **__And father will come up to carry us down,to Christmas together._

Pretty soon afterwards Snoopy had finally managed to start picking up the rest of the gang with the exception of Ashlynn and James however who were merely gonna meet them all at the community theater as they all made their way towards the downtown area.

_**Ed And Pig-Pen: **__Here's to the lad who makes everyone glad that it's Christmas together._

_**Freida And Violet: **__Here's to the one day we don't give our worries a thought._

_**Linus And Lucy: **__Chicken!_

_**Lucy: **__The finest in Sparkyville brother._

_**Linus: **__Think of what mother has wrought._

_**Lucy: **__And think what surprises our father has bought-_

_**Linus And Lucy: **__for Christmas together!_

_**Rebecca:**__ Bless our families,bless our feasts,and cheers!_

_**Everyone: **__Ka-cheers! To the joy of your company._

_**Scheroder: **__Bless us all,from first to least._

_**Boys: **__Yes here's-_

_**Everyone: **__how the world ought to be. _

_Sharing Christmas together._

Once the gang had made it to the downtown area of Sparkyville,they were all in shock of how much more busy it was compared to usual since the streets were filled with lots and lots of people of all sorts going about their day and last minute Christmas preparations,and all the kids piled over to the windows to take a look at the display.

_**Linus: **__Down every lane every Tom,Dick and Jane's off to Christmas together._

_Look! They're as glad as canaries let out of a cage._

_**Sparkyville Residents: **__Nice to relax from the world of business._

_Haven't had fun for an age!_

_**Snoopy And His Siblings: **__Or stuffin'!_

_**Spike: **__With onions._

_**Olaf: **__And raisins._

_**Andy: **__And sage!_

_**Everyone: **__And Christmas together!_

_**Drunks In Alleyway: **__Nice to have got such a comfortable spot for our Christmas together!_

_**Drunk: **__Sharin' a morsel of bread and a jigger of gin._

_**Salvation Army Members: **__Givin' the needy a nice hot meal._

_And saving the sinners from sin!_

_**Dock Workers: **__And ain't it a blessin,the ship made it in,for Christmas together?!_

As soon as the Peanuts gang had made it to the community theater and met up with James and Ashlynn,they all wasted no time and immediately started the last bit of preparations and rehearsals for the show,which as agreed on involved Snoopy and the rest of the animals rehearsing for their performance by themselves and Ashlynn keeping hers a secret.

_**Peanuts Gang: **__Bless our families,bless our feasts,and cheers!_

_To the joy of your company!_

_Bless us all from first to least,yes here's,how the world ought to be._

_Sharing Christmas together!_

The rest of the day went by pretty fast and like from the day that had come before,things seemed to have been going by very smoothly and thankfully no major interruptions or hurdles had gotten in the way. Pretty soon the sun had completely set and many people were out in the town and singing Christmas carols to the local neighbors.

_**Christmas Carolers: **__Let the stars in the sky,remind us of man's compassion._

_Let us love till we die,and god bless us everyone._

Meanwhile back at the theater,almost everything for the show was now properly set up which included the stage props and some of the orchestra members/birds below the stage were tuning up the instruments,while all of the kids backstage were now dressed back up in their fancy,theater clothes from the last show and the Christmas Ball they went to.

"Oh boy,I really need to make this show in particular count tonight,because my father said he's coming to watch all of us." James nervously gulped and timidly stated while he and Lucy were having a conversation as the girl gasped and retorted with a slight hint of awe "Really? Him? With the way you described him back in your office he seems like the most Scrooge like,humbug spouting old fellow in the world." to which James sighed and couldn't help but agree with the girl in a somber tone of voice "Honestly Lucy,I used to think the same exact way as you when it comes to him. I mean I always wanted him to be proud of me no matter what but that certainly didn't stop me from thinking quite low of him at points,like with him always choosing to work and count his big payload on Christmas instead of spending it with me and my mother….which sadly resulted in me never knowing what spending Christmas with family and friends was like for the longest time. But it seems like things are finally starting to change with us ever since I stood up to him that day,and while I'm flabbergasted that it has taken him this long to realize how…..odd he's been,I'm at least glad that he did it at all."

_**James: **__Here's to his wealth,even though he put wealth over Christmas together._

_Sad when a fellow has nothing to love but his gold._

_**Lucy: **__Night upon night in my deepest dreams._

_I hoped that his dinner gets cold._

_**James: **__Well here's to the year when old Scrooge may behold-_

_**Lucy And James: **__a Christmas together!_

Afterwards Charlie Brown and the rest of the gang suddenly walked up to the two kids as the round headed boy enthusiastically suggested "Come on gang,it's time for us all to put on a show that Sparkyville will remember!" to which the rest of the gang cheered in excitement and proceeded to finish up the last bit of preparations while people started to pour in,news vans started showing up outside and journalists began to report on the show.

_(Gather and sing of this glorious thing known as Christmas together.)_

_(Fam'lies created by friendship as well as by birth.)_

_(Even the poorest are rich in love.)_

_(Of love there is never a death.)_

_(So celebrate Christmas for all that it's worth.)_

_**Kids: **__To friendship!_

_**Snoopy And His Siblings: **__To family!_

_**Boys: **__To Christmas!_

_**Girls: **__Together!_

_**Everyone: **__Together! All over the earth!_

_(Gather and sing of this glorious thing.)_

_(Gather and sing of this glorious thing.)_

_(Christmas. Christmas.)_

_(Together. Together.)_

_(Christmas. Christmas.)_

_(Together. Together.)_

_(Christmas. Christmas.)_

So while everyone else was finishing up the preparations for the show that would be held in a matter of a few minutes,James on the other hand was merely straightening out his hat and suit by the curtain so they wouldn't look quite so crooked and wrinkly until he suddenly noticed Ed and the rest of Snoopy's siblings playing with each other on the floor in his peripheral vision as the boy redirected his full attention over to them. The sight of seeing a generally homeless hermit such as Ed having a very good time with the beagles along with the rest of the gang in general was odd,yet strangely comforting and heartwarming for James as the boy couldn't help but grow a faint smile at the display.

_**James: **__I never knew there was anything to spending Christmas together._

_Even this child,who has nothing,has so much to share._

_What is this feeling,that overwhelms me?_

_He looks as fragile as air._

_How gently his father,is placing him there._

Afterwards James decided to brush the sight of Ed playing with the beagles aside as he slowly peeped his head out of the curtain to take a look at the quickly growing audience,and it wouldn't take even five seconds of him looking until James had suddenly spotted his father sitting in the front row above the orchestra area. James as a result of this lightly waved his hand over at his father with a small smile on his face to which his father surprisingly noticed him and waved back with a smile of his own before James started to lightly tear up a little.

"Okay places everyone! Places!" Franklin loudly commanded the rest of the gang as he walked past them all with his same old trusty clipboard to which the others frantically started to get into their proper places for the first performance of the night. However as Ed and the rest of Snoopy's family stood up from the backstage floor and began to get into their places,Ed would suddenly halt Andy and Olaf in particular dead in their tracks while he quietly kneeled down and whispered to them "So,you two got the plan?" to which the two beagles stood up tall and proudly saluted before Ed smiled;patted the two of them on the head and happily replied "All right then,thanks you guys,I think this is gonna be very good for you two as well as Rebecca in the long run,but never mind all that for now,in the meantime,let's put on this darn show."

"**Christmas Together. 2004 TV Version." Copyright Of JAY Productions. Music By Alan Menken And Lyrics By Lynn Ahrens.**


	26. Chapter 26: Showtime Begins!

Chapter 26: Showtime Begins! (Many Specials Guests From LivingOnLaughs And HPDrummerman.)

If the Peanuts gang thought that the community theater was packed to the brim with viewers and theater goers during their first show,then that was absolutely NOTHING compared to how loaded and packed the theater was tonight. Not only was every single seat to be found in the auditorium filled up with viewers including the gang's families and some of their other friends who weren't performing in the show such as Claudia with some special earmuffs on due to her more sensitive ears,her older sister Krissie,her dog Gracie and boyfriend Skylar along with Rattler,Cobra,Ox and Joyslin,but people who were unfortunately unable to get themselves seats had merely decided to sit on the floor and try to get a good view of the stage from there. It was practically the biggest opening for a show in Sparkyville ever since the community theater had first opened its doors and considering how big of a success the gang's first show was,that was really saying something in the grander scheme of things.

After it looked like everyone had finally settled down and gotten themselves comfortable enough,Linus slowly but surely stepped on out from behind the still lowered curtain as the audience quieted down and a spotlight appeared over the boy before he cleared his throat and cheerfully greeted the crowd "Good morning,afternoon,evening or night once again everyone,and welcome to the second annual Sparkyville Christmas Extravaganza!" to which the audience loudly cheered and applauded in excitement for a few moments before Linus got the audience to quiet down with a hand motion.

"Like last week's amazing and mind-blowing spectacle of a show,we have many phenomenal talents that are just waiting to be unveiled to the rest of the world behind this very curtain,and also like our last show,we have THREE spectacular performances in store for all of you here tonight." Linus enthusiastically continued his introduction and gave off a short but sweet description of the show that the audience was about to experience before he grew a little bit of a somber frown and bid the audience some bittersweet news "Unfortunately we have to announce that this is the last time that you will all be seeing US in particular up on this stage,but that doesn't mean that we'll be closing this establishment's doors for good,because as of yesterday evening and with the help of a little paydirt,the Sparkyville Community Theater is officially reopened indefinitely and protected by the very city it's named after!"

After hearing this relatively bittersweet announcement come from Linus,the audience once again cheered and applauded at the revelation that the theater would remain open for the foreseeable future before the boy silenced them once again and gleefully suggested "But that's enough of all the wishy washy stuff,it's Christmas Eve night and only a mere six hours until Christmas Day,and that means you're all expecting some entertainment to tide you over until tomorrow...so…..let the entertainment begin!"

Afterwards Linus gracefully bowed before the audience and headed over to the sidelines where the rest of the gang was while the crowd lightly applauded yet again as the curtain slowly lifted itself up to reveal none other than Ashlyn sitting in a small chair in front of a microphone with a guitar in hand.

"Good evening Sparkyville,my name is Ashlynn Merida an, I come before all of you here tonight to sing you a song of me home country...Scotland." Ashlynn waved to the audience and happily introduced herself and her act to them before she started to play a cheerful little tune on her guitar,while Lucy took a deep breath and remarked out of intrigue from the sidelines "Alright,let's see what this performance of her's is all about."

_**Ashlynn: **__Let Italy boast of her gay,gilded waters._

_Her vines and her bowers,and her soft,sunny skies._

_Her sons drinking love from the eyes of her daughters._

_Where freedom expires amid softness and sighs._

_Scotland's blue mountains wild where hoary cliffs are piled._

_Towering in grandeu are dearer tae me._

_Land of the misty cloud,land of the tempest loud._

_Land of the brave and proud,land of the free._

"Hey,she's pretty good with a guitar,I wonder how she is with a piano." Scheroder smiled and quietly whispered to the others in awe of how good she was with a guitar to which they all nodded their heads in agreement before Snoopy suddenly decided to show off and rushed the stage with his guitar and began to play with Ashlynn,making Charlie Brown,Lucy and the rest of his siblings facepalm at the sight as Andy rolled his eyes quietly moaned _"There goes our brother being an attention nut again."_

_Enthroned on the peak,of her own highland mountains._

_The spirit of Scotia,reigns fearless and free._

_Her green tartan waving o'er blue rock and fountain._

_And proudly she sings,looking over the sea._

_Here among my mountains wild,I have severely smiled._

_When armies and empires against me were hurled._

_Firm as my native rock,I have withstood this shock. _

_Of England,of Denmark,of Rome and the world._

_But see how proudly her war steeds are prancing._

_Deep graves of steel trodden down in their path._

_The eyes of my sons,like their bright swords are glancing._

_Triumphantly riding through ruin and death._

_Bold hearts and nodding plumes,wave o'er their bloody tombs._

_Deepened in gore is the green tartan's wave._

_Shivering are the ranks of steel,dire is the horseman's wheel._

_Victorious in battlefield,Scotland the brave._

_Bold hearts and nodding plumes,wave o'er their bloody tombs._

_Deepened in gore is the green tartan's wave._

_Shivering are the ranks of steel,dire is the horseman's wheel._

_Victorious in battlefield,Scotland the brave._

_Victorious in battlefield,Scotland the brave!_

Afterwards the audience gave a reasonable and quite frankly impressive standing ovation for Ashlynn's song about her home country as she and Snoopy happily bowed before the crowd before they headed over to the sidelines while the curtain slowly came down to a crawl.

"Wow Ashlynn,I kind of understand why you actually wanted to keep that a secret now. That was a great song you performed,it almost makes me want to go to Scotland in the future." Peppermint Patty enthusiastically complimented Ashlynn for her song and general performance as the performer herself got a little red in the face and cheerfully retorted "Well that's all you really gotta do sometimes if you want someone to want to go somewhere,also I wasn't expecting Snoopy of all people to join me on stage out of nowhere,but I'll give him this,he is pretty good with a guitar." to which the beagle nonchalantly brushed the compliment aside and kissed her on the hand like a gentleman,or gentle-beagle in his case.

"You know speaking of which,you and the rest of the animals better get yourselves ready because it looks like you are all up next on the schedule." Franklin suddenly joined in on the conversation and suggested that the animals prepare themselves for their performance as he looked over the schedule on his clipboard to which the beagles,birds and Jasper yiped in a panic and frantically rushed off to the costume set to get themselves ready while Linus headed out to the stage to introduce them,for it was almost time for a brand new alter ego of Snoopy to make its debut,Cuban Beagle.

(Claudia,Gracie,Krissie and Skylar created and owned by LivingOnLaughs. Cobra,Rattler,Ox and Joyslin created and owned by HPDrummerman.)

"**(Scotland Forever.) Scotland The Brave. John McDermot Version." Copyright Of EMI Music Canada. Written By Cliff Hanley.**


	27. CH 27: It's Cuban Beagle,Charlie Brown!

Chapter 27: It's Cuban Beagle,Charlie Brown!

So while Snoopy,his siblings Woodstock,Amy,Jasper and the rest of the birds were over at the costume set and frantically getting themselves ready for their performance in the last minute,Linus had since stepped on out from the sidelines for a second time and enthusiastically told the now mostly quiet audience "Well I can safely say that was a wonderful way to start off the show. It's always nice to see a slight glimpse at another country and or culture other than our own,even if it is through the art of song. But that was just the very first of our three special performances,and now it's about time that we move onto our second performance-"

However it was then and there that Linus's build up speech for the next performance would be sharply interrupted when he could feel someone tapping on his right shoulder from behind as he stopped his excited rambling and turned his head around to see what appeared to be Snoopy's paw sticking out of the curtain with what looked like a small piece of paper in his hand. Linus was of course left quite confused by the beagle's sudden interruption and the others even more so since they began to whisper to each other in confusion,but Linus would eventually brush the confusion aside as he slowly took the piece of paper out of the beagle's hand and meekly read it out to the audience while the beagle concealed his paw "P-please welcome for the very first time in history,the one,the only…...Cuban Beagle?"

"Huh? Cuban Beagle?" Charlie Brown raised an eyebrow and quietly asked equally as confused as Linus seemed to be as Lucy lightly facepalmed and groaned while her brother joined the rest of the gang at the sidelines and the curtains started to slowly lift up "Why am I just now realizing that letting that dog of yours in was a mistake?" to which Violet shrugged her arms and calmly retorted "Me too Lucy,this whole thing just reeks of an impending disaster. We all know how crazy that dog of his can be-"

"Woah! Look at that!" Peppermint Patty suddenly interrupted Violet's rambling about how crazy Snoopy could be at times as everyone redirected their attention over to the main area of the stage to see what appeared to be Snoopy,his siblings,Amy,Jasper,Woodstock and the rest of the beagle scouts dressed up in what looked like red,yellow and orange Mexican women's clothing with a huge barrage of facial makeup all topped off with foot long fruit hats to which everyone in the theater gasped at the sight of them while music began to play from the auditorium speakers.

"Oh my god." Linus facepalmed and nonchalantly remarked in awe of the utterly ludicrous display that they were all looking at as Lucy fainted at the mere sight of the animals while Sally stammered in a mixture of shock and bewilderment "Sn…..Snoopy?" to which Charlie Brown added in a mostly defeated and broken down tone of voice "Wow. I can't believe it,my dog has finally lost it and gone completely nuts. I never thought it would happen,but he's officially reached a new low." Meanwhile the rest of the gang was quietly snickering and giggling at the absolutely ridiculous costumes the animals were wearing while Marcie on the other hand merely asked in a strangely calm tone of voice "Is it weird that in all this I'm mostly wondering if all that fruit is even real?" to which James nodded his head and couldn't help but agree with the brunette "You said it Marcie,a-are those melons real?" before the animals started maniacally dancing to the music.

_They call him Cuban Beagle,he's the king of the rumba beat._

_When he plays the maracas he goes chick-chicky boom,chick-chicky boom._

_Yes sir he's Cuban Beagle,he's the craze of his native street._

_When he starts to dance everything goes chick-chicky boom,chick-chicky boom._

_The senoritas,they sing and they swing with terampero._

_It's very nice,so full of spice._

_And when they dance in they bring a happy ring that era keros._

_Singin' a song,all the day long._

_So if you like the beat,take a lesson from Cuban Beagle._

_And he'll teach you chick-chicky boom,chick-chicky boom,chick-chicky boom._

_(He's really a modest guy,although he's the hottest guy. In Havana. In Havana.)_

_Si senorita,he knows that you would like to chicky-boom-chick._

_It's very nice,so full of spice._

_He'll place his hand on your hip and if you will just give him your hand._

_Then you should try,just you and him. I-yi-yi!_

_If you like the beat,take a lesson from Cuban Beagle._

_And he'll teach you to chick-chicky boom,chick-chicky boom,chick-chicky boom._

_Aye-ye-ye!_

However it was then and there that the animals would suddenly take off all their clothes and do away with their makeup in a flash to reveal them all wearing fancy black tuxedos underneath along with top hats and canes as they all began to tap dance their way to the sidelines to end off their performance.

_*Inane scatting.*_

_Shake your booty daddy,wow!_

_See ya!_

And just like that,the animals' crazy and nonsensical performance had finally come to a close as they had all rejoined the rest of gang at the sidelines,but not before Snoopy himself had poked his head out of the corner and smugly winked to the cheering and even laughing audience. In fact the rest of the gang was too shocked and weirded out by how insane the animals' performance was that they couldn't even find it in themselves to comment on it as they all just stared at the proud animals for at least ten seconds before Linus brushed the whole thing aside and timidly stated "Ok…..um…..well that happened but uh….I'm gonna go introduce the last performance,so why don't you all get into places since it's the big one?" to which the rest of the kids instantly agreed to do so in unison "Definitely."

"What in the Christcrakers just happened?" James quietly whispered to himself while he headed off with the others to get ready since he was still absolutely bewildered and almost kind of traumatized by what he had just seen before all the animals started giggling to each other like children due to how speechless the kids were left by their performance. At this point there was only one performance left to go,and like Linus had just stated,this was the BIG one,the grand finale.

"**Cuban Pete. The Mask Version." Copyright Of Chaos/Columbia Records. Performed By Jim Carrey.**


	28. Chapter 28: The Grand Finale

Chapter 28: The Grand Finale

After all of the entire city,state and country were horrifically exposed to the nonsensical mad ravings that was known as Snoopy and the rest of the animals' performance and introduction of the world famous dancer Cuban Beagle,this not only meant that they could hopefully try to get a look at a more normal performance afterwards,but it also meant that it was finally time for the final act,the big one,the one that the entire gang was gonna be in and the one that they spent 90% of all the rehearsal time on,this was gonna be their trump card to wrap up all of their Christmas adventures.

Once the audience had settled down for the final time after Cuban Beagle and his comrades exited the stage,Linus stepped on out from behind the curtain for the final time as well and cleared his throat before he enthusiastically announced "Well….that was certainly a performance that we just saw. Who could have possibly known that a band of beagles,birds and a toad could have come together and shown us that even a Mexican dancing dog can charm the pants off a lady? Well if you live in our neighborhood then you've already seen weirder,heh-heh-heh. But moving past all that,I think it's time that we finally wrap up this show with our last performance,what is waiting for you behind this curtain is the very culmination of everything we aimed to accomplish with these two shows,and now that we are finally free of the burden of having a certain establishment breathing down our necks,all we can do now is aim to entertain you by expressing ourselves. So…..thank you all for coming and for one final time…..pease enjoy."

Afterwards Linus quickly bowed and made his way over to the sidelines again so he could partake in the final act that was about to be performed from behind the slowly rising curtain as the audience lightly applauded in anticipation. Once the curtain had fully risen and the audience has settled down,all that they saw was nothing but pure darkness aside from what looked like a small boy in a tuxedo with a top hat and cane looking down at the floor,the audience however couldn't make out exactly who it was due to how dark it was,with them being unaware that it was actually Charlie Brown.

The boy didn't say a single word or move a single muscle for what felt like an eternity as the audience continued to stare up ahead in anticipation of what they were gonna do with this last act,and after about ten more seconds of this strange display,a noise finally started to be heard from behind the kid while the stage was still completely dark.

_**Kids: **__Woah!_

_Woah!_

_Woah!_

_*Snoopy imitating lion roar.*_

_Woah!_

_Woah!_

_Woah!_

_Woah!_

_Woah!_

_Woah!_

_**Charlie Brown: **__Ladies and gents this is the moment you've waited for._

_**Kids: **__Woah!_

_**Charlie Brown: **__Been searching in the dark,your sweat soaking through the floor._

_**Kids: **__Woah!_

_**Charlie Brown: **__And buried in your bones,there's an ache that you can't ignore._

_Taking your breath,stealing your mind,and all that was real is left behind._

_Don't fight it,it's coming for you,running at ya._

_It's only this moment,don't care what comes after._

_Your fever dream,can't you see getting closer?_

_Just surrender 'cause you feel the feeling taking over._

_**Kids: **__Oh!_

_**Charlie Brown: **__It's fire,it's freedom,it's flooding open._

_**Kids: **__Oh!_

_**Charlie Brown: **__It's a preacher in the pulpit and you'll find devotion._

_**Kids: **__Oh!_

_**Charlie Brown: **There's something breaking at the brick of every wall it's holding I'll let you know._

_So tell me do you wanna go?_

Suddenly all of the lights up on the stage turned on to reveal all of the kids and animals in their fancy theater outfits as they all began to really show off their singing and dancing skills.

_**Everyone: **__Where it's covered in all the colored lights._

_Where the runaways are running the night._

_Impossible comes trues._

_**Charlie Brown: **__It's taking over you._

_**Kids: **__Oh,this is the greatest show!_

_**Charlie Brown: **__We light it up,we won't come down._

_**Kids: **__And the sun can't stop us now._

_**Charlie Brown: **__Watching it come true,it's taking over you._

_**Kids: **__Oh,this is the greatest show!_

_Woah!_

_**Linus: **__Colossal we come these renegades in the ring._

_**Kids: **__Woah!_

_**Scheroder: **__Where the lost get found in the crown of the circus king._

_**Everyone: **__Don't fight it,it's coming for you._

_Running at ya._

_It's only this moment,don't care what comes after._

_It's blinding outside and I think that you know._

_Just surrender 'cause you're calling and you wanna go._

_Where it's covered in all the colored lights._

_Where the runaways are running the night._

_Impossible comes true._

_**Ed: **__Intoxicating you._

_**Kids: **__Oh,this is the greatest show!_

_**Everyone: **__We light it up,we won't come down._

_**Kids: **__And the sun can't stop us now._

_**Peppermint Patty: **__Watching it come true._

_**Kids: **__It's taking over you._

_Oh,this is the greatest show!_

_**Charlie Brown: **__It's everything you ever want._

_It's everything you ever need._

_And it's here right in front of you._

_This is where you wanna be._

_It's everything you ever want._

_It's everything you ever need._

_And it's here right in front of you._

_This is where you wanna be._

_**Marcie: **__This is where you wanna be!_

_**Kids: **__Where it's covered in all the colored lights._

_Where the runaways are running the night._

_Impossible comes true._

_It's taking over you._

_Oh-_

_**Everyone: **this is the greatest show!_

_We light it up,we won't come down._

_And the sun can't stop us now._

_Watching it come true._

_It's taking over you._

_**James: **__This is the greatest show!_

_**Kids: **__Where it's covered in all the colored lights._

_**Everyone: **__Where the runaways are running the night._

_**James And Marcie: **__Impossible comes true._

_It's taking over you._

_**Everyone: **__Oh this is the greatest show!_

_We light it up,we won't come down._

_And the walls can't stop us now._

_Watching it come true._

_It's taking over you._

_Oh,this is the greatest show!_

_**James,Marcie,Rebecca and Ed: **__'Cause everything you want is right in front of you._

_**Kids: **__Greatest show!_

_**James,Marcie,Rebecca and Ed: **__And you see the impossible is coming true._

_**Kids: **__Greatest show!_

_**James,Marcie,Rebecca and Ed: **__And the walls can't stop us now!_

_**Everyone: **This __is the greatest show!_

_Oh,this is the greatest show!_

_Oh,this is the greatest show!_

_Oh,this is the greatest show!_

_Oh,this is the greatest show!_

_Oh,this is the greatest show!_

_Oh,this is the greatest show!_

_Oh,this is the greatest show!_

_Oh,this is the greatest show!_

After the gang's final performance had come to a climactic close,the entire auditorium erupted into a massive assortment of cheers and applause that shook the room as everyone up on the stage gracefully bowed in front of the crowd. The standing ovation they were receiving was even bigger than last time as the audience was now throwing piles of money straight at them along with flowers of all sorts,and if there was one thing that they were all right about,it was that this was the greatest show that Sparkyville had ever seen. A perfect way to wrap up their Christmas adventures,and it wasn't' even Christmas Day yet.

"**The Greatest Show." Copyright Of Atlantic Records. Music and Lyrics By Benj Pasek and Justin Paul.**


	29. Chapter 29: Silent Nights

Chapter 29: Silent Nights

After receiving nothing short of a truly honorable standing ovation from all of Sparkyville following the final performance in the Peanuts gang's show which included numerous interviews from the press and journalists who were there to report on the event,the kids and animals decided to head on over to Charlie Brown's place of residence for a short little get together as a way to relax and unwind for a while after such an orderly that they had just gone through,even to the point where they didn't even bother or care about counting all the money they had tallied up from the show. It was a mostly quiet Christmas Eve night in the gang's side of the neighborhood since many of the Christmas carolers that were lallygagging around had since headed back to their homes due to it getting pretty late outside. The streets were all brightly lit due to the numerous decorative lights that were all strung up on the houses in the neighborhood including Snoopy's doghouse being turned on,and little bits of snow were softly falling down from the sky.

The kids themselves were all in Charlie Brown's living room and standing or sitting around a nice warm fire next to the fully decorated Christmas tree and wooden nativity set with some mugs of hot chocolate,while Scheroder merely played some calming Christmas music on his piano,Snoopy comfortably lay down in his owner's lap and the rest of his siblings sat around Rebecca and Ed,since they had arguably taken a liking to them the most out of all the kids. Not to mention that as an added bonus,Ashlynn and James were actually able to convince both their fathers and mothers to come over with them on the way out of the theater,and they were all chatting things up with Charlie Brown and Sally's parents outside.

"You know,this is what I like about the holiday season,just people sitting around on a nice,cold,snowy night with nothing better to do." Peppermint Patty sighed and happily stated as she took a big sip of her mug before Lucy chuckled and playfully retorted while she fiddled around with the wooden figurine of Mary "Honestly this doesn't have to be just a holiday season thing,I'd do it every other night if I wanted to,not that I actually want to by the way." to which her brother rolled his eyes and moaned "You had me in the first half Lucy,I'm not gonna lie."

"I'm surprised you actually managed to get your parents to come over Ashlynn,considering how much of an introvert your father is most of the time." Marcie brushed the others' conversation aside and stated in a slight bit of awe that Ashlynn was able to bring her father over in the first place as the Scottish girl shrugged her arms and replied a little surprised herself "Honestly me too Marcie,me mother was instantly down with the idea,but me father is quite the stubborn one when it comes to socializing. But with a little bit of convincing,and by that I mean her threatening to make him watch reality TV with her if he didn't come,he ultimately caved in. Honestly I'm more surprised that James managed to get his old geezer to come over." to which the former young banker rolled his eyes and respectfully disagreed "Well I'd be inclined to agree with you Ashlynn if we were just talking about him from a week ago,but things between me,him and my mother are finally changing ever since I stood up to him back at the bank,it's long about time he did if you ask me."

"Well at least it's good that he changed his ways at all in the first place." Shermy sighed and tried to look on the bright side of things regarding James's father as Patty Swanson nodded her head and agreed with the boy "Yeah he's right,besides maybe Charlie Brown's folks getting to know him could result in the bank getting buddy-buddy with us and save us a lot of trouble." before Violet added in agreement as well "And even then considering how much money we all made with the first show,who knows how long it'll take until we need to do something like this again? Hopefully never if you ask me,I just want to get back to being a normal kid and live a relatively normal life."

"Well by that do you mean as normal as it can get in Sparkyville?" Pig-Pen chuckled and jokingly asked due to how nuts life in Sparkyville could actually get at times,but before Violet could even answer,Freida suddenly joined in on the conversation and stated in agreement "I mean he does have a bit of a point Violet. Every other year or month something crazy happens over here that can go right into the history books." to which Scheroder calmly added while he continued to play his music "That's the thing about Sparkyville,it's a crazy place sometimes but...it's still home."

"Yeah and that's what I love about this place,the craziness keeps me coming back. It's not like New Jersey,Detroit or Florida where it just terrifies me,I actually have my fun here." Ed laughed and cheerfully replied as he stretched out his arms and leaned on the wall behind him before Rebecca rolled her eyes and retorted "Yep and it sure beats the orphanage any day of the week,in fact I actually saw on the news the other day that they're turning what's left of the place into a retirement home for the elderly ever since they hauled that witch out of there,it's about time something good has come out of that place."

* * *

However as the gang continued to chat with each other about whatever topics could come to their mind,Linus soon started to notice that Charlie Brown hadn't spoken a single world for quite a while and had merely just stared into the fire for most of the time they had been home as he raised an eyebrow and decided to politely confront him about it "Is there something on your mind in particular Charlie Brown? You haven't said anything in quite a while." to which the round headed boy quickly perked up and meekly stammered in response "Huh? Oh it's really nothing,I was just thinking about something." before Peppermint Patty grew a little bit of a concerned look on her face and sternly requested "Hey I know that tone of voice of your's right there Chuck,and that means you got something important to say,so why don't you spit it out already?"

Afterwards Charlie Brown could now feel the patient and heavy stares of all the other kids and animals in the living room pound down on him for at least ten seconds before he sighed and ultimately caved in as he stood up and paced around the den "I….was thinking about what we had been doing in the past week or two,about everything regarding the bank and the show. And as I continued to think about it all,it suddenly hit me that…..we technically saved the neighborhood with this show of ours. I mean think about it,James when we first met him said that the entire neighborhood was at risk of being repossessed by the bank,and we made so much money during our first show that we prevented the entire bank from going bankrupt. So shouldn't that mean we saved all these other homes as well other than ours?"

"Wow,when you put it like that,I don't think I ever really thought about it in that way." Peppermint Patty softly gasped and remarked in awe that they technically did prevent all of Sparkyville from becoming homeless as Lucy got a little red in the face and added equally as surprised "I guess we were so caught up in saving our own skin that we didn't think about everyone else we were helping at the same time along the way." to which Charlie Brown nodded his head and replied with a small smile "Exactly,I mean we always hear about all these other problems going on in the world to the point where merely getting our homes repossessed is small potatoes in comparison,but in the end…...I still think that we really did something good and admirable for a lot of people this Christmas. And I hope I don't come across as overly wishy-washy here but…...I'm just thankful that we all managed to do this together...as friends."

Afterwards the gang's attention would be suddenly directed over to the old grandfather clock by Charlie Brown's front door when they all heard a familiar ticking and chime come from it that indicated that it had reached midnight,it was officially Christmas Day,and it strangely enough didn't really matter to all of them them that they were once again out at such a late time of night.

_**Charlie Brown: **__Some days,we forget to look around us._

_Some days,we can't see the joy that surrounds us._

_So caught up inside ourselves._

_We take when we should give._

_So for tonight we pray for,what we know can be._

_And on this day we hope for,what we still can't see._

_It's up to us to be the change._

_And even though we all can still do more,there's so much to be thankful for._

_Look beyond ourselves,there's so much sorrow._

_It's way too late to say,I'll cry tomorrow._

_Each of us must find our truth._

_We're so long overdue._

_So for tonight we pray for,what we know can be._

_And every day we hope for,what we still can't see._

_It's up to us to be the change._

_And even though we all can still do more,there's so much to be thankful for._

_Even with our differences,there is a place we're all connected._

_Each of us can find each other's light._

"You're right,you're absolutely right Charlie Brown. It doesn't just have to be during the holidays that we can do something good for the world,and we already have so much to be thankful for too. There's nothing else I really need other than all of this." Linus smiled and happily agreed with Charlie Brown's brief little speech as the rest of the gang nodded their heads in agreement followed by Snoopy giving his owner a hug.

However it was then and there that the gang's little moment would be interrupted when Ashlynn suddenly remarked in awe from the window "Well would you look at that." to which Charlie Brown raised an eyebrow and timidly asked with a hint of concern in his voice while he slowly headed towards the girl "Huh? What is it Ashlynn?" only for him to be quickly left in nothing short of bewilderment when he looked out the window to see what appeared to be the Aurora Borealis up in the sky.

"Woah! No way!" Peppermint Patty gasped and happily exclaimed at the sight of the display as she and the rest of the group joined the two kids over at the window before everyone frantically headed outside to get a better look at the natural phenomenon,and it seemed that the massive barrage of lights was stretched out as far as the eye could see,a massive shocker considering how far away Sparkyville was from a location that was able to even see the lights in the first place.

_(So for tonight we pray for.)_

_(What we know can be.)_

_(And on this day we hope for,what we still can't see.)_

_(It's up to us be the change.)_

_(And even though this world needs so much more,there's so much to be thankful for.)_

"**Thankful." Copyright Of Reprise Records. Written By Carole Bayer Sager,David Foster and Richard Page. Performed By Josh Groban.**


	30. CH 30:It's Christmas Again,Charlie Brown

Chapter 30: It's Christmas Again,Charlie Brown

"_Do you hear what I hear?" (Hear what I hear?)_

_Said the night wind to the little lamb._

"_Do you see what I see?" (Do you see what I see?) _

"_Way up in the sky little lamb."_

"_Do you see what I see?" (Do you see what I see?)_

"_A star,a star,dancing in the night,with a tail as big as a kite."_

"_With a tail as big as a kite."_

_Said the little lamb to the shepherd boy._

"_Do you hear what I hear?" (Do you hear what I hear?) _

"_Ringing through the sky shepherd boy."_

"_Do you hear what I hear?" (Do you hear what I hear?)_

"_A song,a song,high above the tree,with a voice as big as the sea."_

"_With a voice as big as the sea."_

_Said the shepherd boy to the mighty king. _

"_Do you know what I know?" (Know what I know? Know what I know?)_

"_In your palace warm,mighty king." _

"_Do you know what I know?" (Know what I know? Know what I know?)_

"_A child,a child,shivers in the cold,let us bring him silver and gold."_

"_Let us bring him silver and gold."_

_Said the king to the people everywhere._

"_Listen to what I say." (Listen to what I say.)_

"_Pray for peace,people everywhere."_

"_Listen to what I say." (Listen to what I say.)_

"_The child,a child,sleeping in the night,he will bring us goodness and light."_

"_He will bring us goodness and light!"_

After all of the kids headed back to their homes and had all fallen into a deep and comforting sleep amidst a calm,relaxing and snowy winter night,Christmas morning in Sparkyville had slowly but surely arrived the very next morning as everyone in the entire neighborhood awoke with feelings of happiness,excitement and overall Christmas cheer inside them while they all proceeded to celebrate the holiday,and as it was to be expected,all of the kids had quickly opened up all of their presents and they all greatly enjoyed what they gotten from their friends and family.

Charlie Brown ended up getting a solid gold baseball bat and ball to be hung up on his wall signed by Joe Shalbotnik himself,Sally found herself with a very nice looking doll house around the size of a TV set,Snoopy ended up receiving a massive stack of bones and an entire gallon of root better for him and his siblings to share along with a shiny new World War 1 era Flying Ace helmet and typewriter courtesy of his owner. Woodstock and Amy woke up in their small little nest to be quickly greeted by the sight of a fancy looking bird house hanging on one of the branches down below as it was a gift from none other than Snoopy,and Jasper was sent a huge can of gummy flies in the mail along with a new and larger glass case for him to live in.

Linus to the surprise of Lucy and even himself to an extent ended up being gifted a brand new baby blanket from his mother to be used as a "backup" in case his sister or even his grandmother got any tricks up their sleeve in regards to any schemes revolving around getting rid of it,Lucy opened up one of her presents to see a new limited edition football that she could continue to use on Charlie Brown to her heart's content,and even Rerun ended up getting a small red baby blanket of his very own alongside a dog wind up toy.

Peppermint Patty,Shermy and Franklin all got a new set of baseball and hockey gear for the numerous seasons in the upcoming year,Marcie got a small little book shelf that could fit right in her room,Scheroder had gotten a new toy piano to replace his old one since it was getting a little worn out and chipped on the edges regarding the paint,Freida now had a new hair brush for herself as well as one for her cat Faron. Violet,Rebecca and Patty Swanson had all gotten a new set of clothes along with a gift card to the clothing store they liked to go to a lot at the mall,Ed had been sent a picture of Herman and the rest of his crew in Africa in the mail along with an extreamly rare African coin to keep around for good luck,James ended up receiving an old record player along with a huge stack of records that contained dancing and acting lessons since he was so focused on being a stage performer in the future,and lastly Ashlynn was nearly given a heart attack when she looked in her own stocking to find a plane ticket to none other than Scotland after New Years.

* * *

After everyone had opened up their presents and put them away for the time being,the gang aside from Ashlynn for some unknown reason decided to meet up with each other later on in the day at the Christmas themed carnival that was happening just down by the school,and they all ended up having a very good time there as well since the kids rode numerous rides that nearly made Charlie Brown sick to his stomach,and Snoopy single handedly won himself and all of the kids a huge barrel of prizes after he,the rest of his family,Woodstock,Amy and Jasper played some of the local games,and the kids decided to bring them all inside the bus so they wouldn't have to carry them all over the place.

"Wow,it sounds like we really hit the jackpot this year with all the nice stuff we got." Charlie Brown happily remarked as he and the rest of the gang walked around the carnival after getting themselves a bite to eat there before Linus calmly tried to guess the reason why they all got such nice gifts "Perhaps when our parents found out that we were able to pay off the bank all by ourselves,maybe they decided to use the extra money they've been saving up on us." to which James shrugged his arms and enthusiastically retorted "Hey I don't really know how it happened,but I'm just glad I got that record player so I can get in some dancing and acting practice in my spare time. We all got really lucky this year."

"Not to mention that we still have to count the money we made from last night's show too at some point,it looks like we REALLY got lucky this Christmas huh sir?" Marcie nodded her head and happily added in agreement while she straightened out her slightly crooked glasses as Peppermint Patty respectfully disagreed "Nah,we just got ourselves a huge dosage of good karma for all the things we've done this year,and stop calling me sir!" before Freida rolled her eyes and enthusiastically retorted "Well whether if it was just good karma or not,Charlie Brown is right,we did indeed hit the jackpot this year."

"And we still have the New Years party coming up too,did one of us accidentally find a leprechaun or something?" Rebecca chuckled and jokingly asked due to how good they've been having it in the past few days as Pig-Pen lightly laughed in response "With the way things have been going for us,I won't be surprised if one of us actually did find one." before Ed suddenly stopped dead in his tracks and looked over to the left for some unknown reason. Rebecca was very quick to notice this odd behavior of his as she turned around and politely confronted him about it in confusion "Hey Ed,is there something wrong?" to which the rest of the gang stopped as well and turned around to face the boy when they ended up overhearing Rebecca's concerns while the boy merely asked a little confused himself "What's Ashlynn doing over there? Is she selling stuff?"

"Huh?" Rebecca quietly asked herself in a still confused tone of voice as she and the rest of the gang turned over to the left to see Ashlynn sitting down in a chair and selling what appeared to be balloons and kites from a small barrel in front of her to which Ed decided to head over and confront her about it,with the rest of the group following shortly afterwards.

Ashlynn like stated from before was continuing to nonchalantly sell some balloons and kites to the carnival goers until she suddenly noticed her friends approaching her as she grew a wide smile and happily greeted them "Oh hi gang,I see you've all decided to join half the town here at the carnival today." before Ed cheerfully greeted her back "Hey Ashlynn,what are you doing with all those balloons and kites? Are you selling them?" to which the merchant nodded her head and enthusiastically confirmed that she was "Yes indeed fellers,you see I was on me way here to have some fun with the rides,until I passed by the dock and saw an abandoned shipment of these,so I decided to sell them while I was here."

"Oh,well that's nice to know. Is there anything in particular you're saving money for?" Linus grew a small smile and asked out of curiosity only for Ashlynn to merely shake her head and confirm that she wasn't "Oh no,I just wanted to make a few quick bucks while I'm still here in America,because as it turns I'm going to Scotland after New Years!" to which the group gasped out of shock and surprise before Sally asked equally as dumbfounded "Really Ashlynn? You're going to Scotland?!"

"Mm-hmm,I reached right down into my stocking and found three plane tickets for me,me mother and me father. Although I can safely say that he'll likely just spend half the trip in our hotel room that's for sure." Ashlynn nodded her head and cheerfully explained how she was finally going to visit her home country as she pulled out a plane ticket from her pocket before Ed developed a large smile and happily congratulated his friend "Well that's really nice Ashlynn,I hope you have a nice trip." to which Linus slightly nodded his head and added "It's not every day you get to leave America for another country,most of the time for kids like us it's for student exchange programs."

"We'll be leaving a few days after New Years and will be staying there for an entire month,but in the meantime would any of you like a kite or balloon? It's on the house just for y'all." Ashlynn chuckled and happily asked if any of them wanted to have a kite or balloon to which Charlie Brown immediately shook his head and politely declined the offer "Oh no thanks Ashlynn,you do not go to me for successful kite flying." before Sally coldly backed his statement up "He's right,my big brother is very bad with kites."

"Last time he tried to fly one in the middle of winter,he got stuck around the kite eating tree around the pond and we had to call the fire department to get him down." Violet nodded her head and told Ashlynn about the last time Charlie Brown tried to fly a kite in the winter before the boy got a little red in the face due to the harsh reminder of his failure and meekly continued "Yeah I've never been able to successfully fly a kite in my entire life,so I'll pass on the offer,I don't want to risk another failure in front of the entire town." Ashlynn however wasn't exactly through yet in trying to convince the boy to give his kite flying another shot as she scoffed and cheerfully persisted "Oh come on Charlie boy,you'll never know if you will fail unless you try. Besides if you do fail,there's nowhere else for you to go but…..up." to which Charlie Brown sighed and reluctantly obliged while he took out one of the many kites from the barrel and began to prep it up for flight.

_**Ashlynn: **__Life's a balloon,that tumbles or rises._

_Dependin' on what is inside._

_Fill it with hope,and playful surprises. _

_And oh deary ducks then,you're in for a surprise._

_Look inside the balloon,and if you hear a tune._

_There's nowhere to go but up._

_Choose the secret we know,before life makes us grow._

_There's nowhere to go but up._

_If your selection feels right,well then dearly hold tight._

_If you see your reflection your heart will take flight._

_If you pick the right string then your heart will take wing._

_And there's nowhere to go but up._

However as Charlie Brown finally managed to get his kite up in the air,it wouldn't even take a few moments until he started to feel the wind carry it away and lift him off high up into the sky as he nervously whimpered "Oh no,oh no,here we go again!" to which Peppermint Patty groaned and frantically suggested "Oh good grief! Someone call 911!" only for Charlie Brown to suddenly halt them in a oddly cheerful tone of voice when he strangely began to regain perfect control of his kite "Hold on Patty I….I think I'm actually doing it! Oh my gosh I'm actually doing it!"

_**Charlie Brown: **__Now I feel like a boy,with a shiny new toy._

_And there's nowhere to go but up!_

_**Peppermint Patty: **__Chuck!_

_**Charlie Brown: **__Just one day at the fair has me waltzin' on air._

_And there's nowhere to go but up!_

"Gang,I can't believe it,it's actually happening,after all these years of failure and humiliation,I'm finally flying a kite!" Charlie Brown laughed and ecstatically remarked at the revelation that he was finally flying a kite,not to mention that he was somehow able to do it high up in the air as well.

_Now my heart is so light._

_And I think I just might._

_Start feeding the birds and then go fly a kite._

_With your head in a cloud,only laughter's allowed._

_And there's nowhere to go but up!_

"All right,that's it,I'm coming up with you!" Lucy suddenly threw her hands up in the air and decided to join Charlie Brown up in the air while she grabbed a balloon and slowly started to float up into the sky,which was quickly followed by Linus and most of the other kids and animals as he frantically called out to his sister "Hold on Lucy! Wait for me!"

Ed,Rebecca and James however were far too awestruck by the display to really do anything as they merely just stared up at the sky that was now filled with numerous kids,beagles and birds along with a single toad on balloons.

_**Kids: **__They're zigging and zagging._

_Our feet never dragging._

_We might take a ride to the moon._

_**Charlie Brown: **__All this bumping and weaving all comes from believing._

_**Everyone: **__The magic inside the balloon._

_**Ed: **__The past is the past,it lives on as history._

_That's an important thing._

_The future comes fast,each second a mystery._

_For nobody knows what tomorrow may bring._

"This one looks like you." Ed chuckled and gleefully remarked as he took out one of the red balloons from the barrel and presented it to Rebecca to which the girl smiled and asked out of curiosity "How'd you know?" only for Ed to merely ignore her and grab her hand while he began to float up into the air.

"D-don't you lose her Ed!" James gasped and nervously requested at the mere sight of what Ed and Rebecca were doing as the former tipped his hat to the boy and cheerfully reassured him that they'd be fine "I won't James!"

_**Rebecca: **__Up here in the blue,it's a marvelous view._

_**Ed And Rebecca: **__Side by side is the best way to fly._

_**Ed: **__Once I just looked above,but now I am part of the lovely Sparkyville sky._

"Would you like to try one yourself James?" Ashlynn turned towards James and cheerfully asked if he wanted to join in on the fun as the boy rolled his eyes and obliged "Ugh,I'll give it a go." to which Ashlynn playfully bid a light word of warning "Choose carefully."

However when James grabbed one of the balloons and tossed it out in an attempt to head on up with everyone else,much to his shock it instead did absolutely nothing at all as Ashlynn grew a nervous grin and timidly tried to lighten up his mood "Well,uh,nowhere to go but up." only for James to suddenly feel himself being lifted up into the air out of nowhere while he gleefully exclaimed "Wait,wait,yep it's working! I'm coming everyone! Wait for me!"

_**James: **__When the clouds make a muss._

_Well I won't make a fuss._

_But I'll polish the stars._

_**Kids: **__Ellon better let us!_

_**Spike,Olaf,Andy And Marbles: **__Give a lift to a foe._

_For you reap what you sow._

_**Kids: **__And there's nowhere to go but up._

"_We've set sail! Chart a course Mr Woodstock!" _Snoopy happily requested as he seemed to be having another one of his World War 1 Flying Ace fantasies in his head to which Woodstock laughed and enthusiastically obliged _"That I will sir! Hahaha!"_

_**Everyone: **__If your day's up the spout,well there isn't a doubt._

_There's nowhere to go but up!_

_And if you don't believe,just hang onto my sleeve._

_For there's nowhere to go but up!_

_As you fly over town,it gets harder to frown._

_And we'll all hit the heights if we never look down._

_**Charlie Brown: **__Let the past take a bow,the forever is now!_

_**Everyone: **__And there's nowhere to go but up! _

_Up!_

_There's nowhere to go but up!_

While everyone in the gang and even some of the other residents of Sparkyville were continuing to have fun up in the air with their balloons and or kites,Ashlynn was merely looking up at the display from down below with a bright and chipper smile on her face as she chuckled and said to herself "Of course they will all forget by tomorrow. They always do." before she glanced over at her barrel,saw only one balloon left inside and quietly stated "Only one balloon left,I think it must be mine. Yes I suppose it must. Practically perfect in every way." After a few more moments of thinking the proposition over,Ashlynn ultimately decided to take the last balloon available and join the rest of the gang up in the sky.

"**Do You Hear What I Hear?" Copyright Of Capitol Records Inc. Written By Gloria Shayne And Noel Regney. Performed By Bing Crosby.**

"**Nowhere To Go But Up." Copyright Of Walt Disney Records. Written By Scott Whitman And Marc Shaiman.**


	31. Chapter 31: One Last Surprise

Chapter 31: One Last Surprise

Rebecca was sitting down on a bean bag and watching herself some TV sometime after everyone had headed home from the carnival,her first Christmas in Sparkyville was nothing short of absolutely amazing. Not only did she have an incredible birthday party with all her closest friends,not only did she have an admirable role in two of the biggest shows that the city had ever seen,and not only did she have a great time at the Christmas themed carnival earlier that day,but she had also managed to find herself a loving and caring boyfriend known as Ed after building him a small cabin out in Monte Woods,so he wouldn't have to sleep out in the cold during his visits. Rebecca continued to watch TV for about five more minutes until she suddenly heard what sounded like knocking coming from her front door,she wasn't expecting any visitors of any sort that day and was of course a little confused in terms of who could possibly be at her front door.

"Who is it?" Rebecca called out in a slightly cautious tone of voice as she turned down the volume on the TV before the voice of none other than Ed calmly responded from the other end "It's me babe,come over here I want to show you something." to which Rebecca perked up and cheerfully obliged while she skipped over to the front door and opened it up "Oh alright! What is it? Or are you just hiding some-WAHHHH!" However for as soon as Rebecca turned the copper knob and opened up the front door,she was immediately greeted by the sight of something pouncing right on top of her and pinning her down on the floor,in fact it all happened so and quick fast that she couldn't even see WHAT in particular had just pinned her down for a few moments until she could finally readjust her eyes to see what it was,or she should see who THEY were.

"Andy? Olaf? What are y'all doing here?" Rebecca gasped and asked in a very confused and bewildered tone of voice when she saw two of Snoopy's brothers laying down on her chest to which Ed waltzed through the front door and cheerfully shouted "Surprise! Merry Christmas Rebecca!" before the girl raised an eyebrow and retorted even more confused than before while she slowly stood up from the floor "H-hold on a second,w-what are you talking about here?"

"It's a gift,for you!" Ed chuckled and happily tried to explain what was going on to Rebecca which only ended up making her more confused yet again as she looked around the room and questioned "Gift? What gift? I sure don't see one around here." to which Ed pointed his finger at the two beagles and enthusiastically replied "Why you're looking at them of course,it's Andy and Olaf!" before the two dogs ran right up to Rebecca and gave her a crushing hug.

Rebecca however was still very much confused by what Ed meant by that in particular as she lifted her head up;looked back at the still smiling boy and asked "Ed,what are you exactly talking about,are you saying that…..they're my dogs now?" before the hermit nodded his head and calmly explained himself while the beagles let go of her "Yeah,what else could I mean? Y-you see I was talking to Charlie Brown and Snoopy about what I should get you for Christmas,and he ended up telling me about how much you liked dogs and that you've always been wanting one. And when Snoopy told me that Andy and Olaf didn't exactly have definitive homes,I talked it over with them and your parents and…...here we are."

Rebecca stood there in complete silence for a few moments after hearing that she practically had two beagles of her very own now,it was true that she had always been wanting to have a dog ever since she fully settled down in Sparkyville,and to hear that she suddenly had two out of the blue as a Christmas present left her speechless. After a few more moments of Rebecca fully taking the scenario presented in front of her in,she slowly started to develop a large,gleefully smile and happily exclaimed as she gave her two dogs a loving hug "Oh Ed! Thank you sweetie!" before she gave her boyfriend a hug as well and made him turn bright red while he timidly brushed his good deed aside like it was nothing "Hey I…..I just wanted to get you something in return for you making me that lovely cabin,and also so you could have some friends whenever you feel…...alone."

"Well I can safely assure that you I'll never feel lonely with these guys around." Rebecca chuckled and happily reassured Ed that she would be fine while she let go of him and glanced over at her two dogs who stood up tall and saluted in response before Ed suddenly started to develop a slightly more somber look on his face and meekly stated "And Rebecca there's…..something else I want to talk to you about." to which his girlfriend turned around to face him and politely obliged to hear what it was about with a little bit of a concerned look on her face "Sure,g-go ahead sweetie."

Afterwards Ed deeply sighed and spilled the beans in a slightly nervous and shaky tone of voice "After the first of the year I was…...thinking about heading on outta here for a while since Herman and the rest of the crew are likely on their way back from Africa now,and I have to be the leader of the group and all since Herman is….not exactly the best when it comes to being a full time leader,don't tell him I said that by the way. I know we talked about all this on the ride home from the theater that night but,I just want to know if you are TRULY gonna be alright with this kind of long distance relationship." to which Rebecca slowly developed a little bit of a somber look herself and looked down at her feet before she calmly replied "Ed…...I'll be fine,I promise. I don't have to worry about being alone anymore,I have you,the rest of the gang and I now have Andy and Olaf. You don't have to worry about me like that,I'll be alright here."

"Well,that's good to know then." Ed smiled and retorted with a short sigh of relief before he suddenly perked up and cheerfully suggested "Hey I just got an idea,why don't we try to spend as much time together as we possibly can starting tomorrow? Just me and you,doing whatever we want until the day comes?" to which Rebecca started to grow a small smile herself and happily nodded her head in agreement "You know,I would actually like that very much Ed."

"Nice so it's settled,well I suppose I better head on back to the cabin,it's starting to get dark." Ed chuckled and enthusiastically decided to excuse himself for the evening when he saw that the sun was slowly starting to set as he and Rebecca came together for a farewell hug before he started to head down the street and make his way towards Monte Woods,leaving only Rebecca and her two new pets behind as they watched him leave their field of vision.

* * *

Later on during that night,Rebecca was sitting down on the middle of her bed and looking out her bedroom window to see that it was once again a very peaceful,calm and snowy winter night in Sparkyville,with both Andy and Olaf laying down on her lap as she chuckled and asked while she lightly rubbed their fur "You know you guys,I'm starting to think that Ed worries about me too much when it comes to me being alone." to which the two beagles laughed in response before their new owner continued much more mellow and calm "But still…...I can't really blame him for thinking that way,I used to be alone and all by myself for such a long,long period of my life,for years and years to be precise. But now ever since I came to Sparkyville,I got my parents,the rest of the gang,Ed,and now you guys. Honestly I can't really see myself ever feeling truly alone anymore,and even when Ed's gonna eventually leave for how long it may be...that's not gonna change. He'll always be….right here."

_**Rebecca: **__If I could break this spell,I'd run to him today._

_And somehow I know he's thinking about me._

_Ed,you and I were meant to be._

_Far longer than forever._

_I'll hold you in my heart._

_It's almost like you're here with me,although we're far apart._

_**Ed: **__Far longer than forever._

_As constant as a star._

_I close my eyes and I am where you are._

_**Rebecca: **__Sure as the dawn brings the sunrise._

_Weave an unshakable bond._

_**Ed: **__Destined to last for a lifetime and beyond._

_Far longer than forever._

_**Rebecca: **__Far longer than forever._

_**Ed: **__I swear that I'll be true._

_**Rebecca: **__I swear that I'll be true._

_**Both: **__I've made an everlasting vow._

_To find a way to you._

_Far longer than forever._

_Like no love ever known._

_**Rebecca: **And with your love-_

_**Both: **I'll never be alone._

_**Rebecca: **__Far longer than forever._

_**Ed: **__Much stronger than forever._

_**Rebecca: **__And with your love I'll never be alone._

* * *

Like Ed and Rebecca had agreed upon the night before,they indeed began to spend the rest of the time that the former had in Sparkyville together before he would inevitably have to leave and return to his crew,and even though it wasn't exactly known how long he would be gone,they were both determined to spend the remaining time they had like it was the very last they would ever have,and it all started with what could be considered their first official date at Joe's and Aces. Even when the rest of the gang found out what they were doing and why they were doing it,they were all just happy that the two of them were spending time together in such a nice and romantic manor. During one of the many nights leading up to New Years and Ed's departure,he and Rebecca were walking through a particularly beautiful area of Monte Woods due to the wintertime makeover despite the cold,and they were soon basking in the lovely scenery.

_**Ed: **__No more talk of darkness._

_Forget these wide-eyed fears._

_I'm here,nothing can harm you._

_My words will warm and calm you._

_Let me be your freedom._

_Let daylight dry your tears._

_I'm here,with you beside you._

_To guard you and to guide you._

_**Rebecca: **__Say you love me._

_Every waking moment._

_Turn my head with talk of summertime._

_Say you need me with you now and always._

_Promise me that all you say is true._

_That's all I ask of you._

_**Ed: **__Let me be your shelter._

_Let me be your light._

_You're safe,no one will find you._

_Your fears are far behind you._

_**Rebecca: **__All I want is freedom._

_A world with no more night._

_And you always beside me._

_To hold me and to hide me._

_**Ed: **__Then say you'll share with me one love,one lifetime._

_Let me lead you from your solitude._

_Say you need me with you here,beside you._

_Anywhere you go let me go too._

_That's all I ask of you._

_**Rebecca: **__Say you'll share with me one love,one lifetime._

_Say the word and I will follow you._

_**Both: **__Share each day with me each night,each morning._

_**Rebecca: **__Say you love me._

_**Ed: **__You know I do._

It was right then and there that Rebecca and Ed started to ever so slowly lean closer and closer to each other in an almost hypnotic state until both of their lips finally touched each other for the very first time.

(_Love me,that's all I ask of you.)_

_(Anywhere you go let me go too.)_

_(Love me,that's all I ask of you.)_

"**Far Longer Than Forever." Copyright Of Sony Wonder. Written By Lex De Azevedo And David Zippel.**

"**All I Ask Of You (Duet With Kelly Clarkson.) Copyright Of Reprise Records. Written By Andrew Lloyd Webber,Charles Hart,Elliot Hart,Harvey Schmidt,Richard Stilgoe,Tom Jones And Zachary Stilgoe.**


	32. Chapter 32: Departure

Chapter 32: Departure

As New Years was beginning to rapidly approach at a very fast and quick rate,Ed and Rebecca happily continued to spend every bit of time they had left together until the day of the former's departure would come,and some of those last moments they had were none other than their very first date,and their very first kiss. Everyone else in the gang had soon been well aware of their relationship and were nothing short of happy for the two of them,even Violet who found Ed's general appearance to be appalling on the same level as Pig-Pen couldn't help but find the two of them working just fine as a couple. The New Years party that Peppermint Patty held at her place on the night of December 31'st also went by extremely well without any problems or hitches,Charlie Brown didn't have to worry about a very overwhelming book report on War And Peace,he didn't have to worry about getting a dance with Heather The Little Red Haired Girl since she didn't live in Sparkyville anymore,and he didn't even have to worry about himself falling asleep outside on the porch due to sheer exhaustion and missing the big moment where the clock struck midnight and it became the first of the year. And considering that Ed was set to leave Sparkyville and head on back to his crew the very next day,the New Years party was considered by the rest of the gang as half a New Years celebration and half a going away party for their friend.

When the next morning had shortly but surely arrived after everyone had headed home for the night,Ed was all set and ready to go as he stepped on out of his cabin and shut the front door for the last time while he quietly sighed and whispered to himself "Here goes nothing." before he proceeded to make his way towards Charlie Brown's house in his side of the neighborhood,since Snoopy had actually offered to give everyone a ride to the city limits so Ed wouldn't strain his legs out before lunchtime. Surprisingly enough barely anyone said a single word on the way to the city limits aside from a few quiet and hushed whispers from a few of the kids while mostly everyone else kept themselves quiet and looked out the windows and at the scenery,all the while Rebecca and Ed began to reminisce about everything they had done with each other from the first time they ever met,to their very first kiss in Monte Woods not too many nights ago.

_Oceans apart._

_Day after day._

_And I slowly go insane._

_I hear your voice,on the line._

_But it doesn't stop the pain._

_If I see you next to never._

_Then how can we say forever?_

_Wherever you go._

_Whatever you do._

_I will be right here waiting for you._

_Whatever it takes._

_Or how my heart breaks._

_I will be right here waiting for you._

_I took for granted,all the times._

_That I thought would last somehow._

_I hear the laughter._

_I taste the tears._

_But I can't get near you now._

_Oh,can't you see it baby?_

_You've got me goin' crazy._

_Wherever you go._

_Whatever you do._

_I will be right here waiting for you._

_Whatever it takes._

_Or how my heart breaks._

_I will be right here waiting for you._

_I wonder how we can survive this romance._

_But in the end if I'm with you._

_I'll take the chance._

_Oh,can't you see it baby._

_You've got me goin' me crazy._

_Wherever you go._

_Whatever you do._

_I will be right here waiting for you._

_Whatever it takes._

_Or how my heart breaks._

_I will be right here waiting for you._

_Waiting for you._

* * *

Pretty soon after a quite long bus ride across the city and countryside,Ed was soon standing in the middle of an unwinding country road and in front of a wooden sign that read in bold white letters "You Are Now Leaving Sparkyville." with the rest of the gang standing behind him by the now pulled over bus. Everyone was pretty mellowed out and disheartened by the fact that Ed had to be leaving already,but in the end they knew that he would be coming back at SOME point even though they didn't know exactly when it would be.

After Ed continued to stare at the sign and at the unwinding road up ahead for a few more moments,he eventually turned around to face the others as he sighed and somberly remarked with a melancholy look on his face while he slowly walked towards them "Well,I guess I better get going. It's been a lot of fun everyone but,I think Herman's probabaly making a mess of things with the crew by now and I got to play leader." to which Charlie Brown nodded his head and meekly replied while he shook hands with the hermit "Yeah I guess so,it was very nice having you over for Christmas Ed. We really appreciate the help you gave with everything regarding the bank."

"No problem Chuck,I'll always be there to get you out of a bad situation." Ed chucked and lightly brushed his help he gave to the gang aside before Linus rolled his eyes and cheerfully hoped "Well I hope that you find time in your…..schedule sometime in the future to come over again. It'd actually be nice to get in some more of those wilderness lessons of yours before we likely get hauled off to Camp Remote again in the summer." to which Ed tipped his hat to the boy and confidently reassured "Oh believe me I'll make sure to get you fellers up in shape. But just a quick reminder to y'all,Monte Woods is only a hop,skip and jump from your neighborhood and you can go there anytime you like."

"Don't make promises you can't keep Ed. I'm actually wanting to one up those bullies if we ever see their ugly mugs again,and I would hate for them to laugh in our faces because you couldn't bother to show up here." Lucy sternly requested that Ed be truly honest with them if he would actually come back to continue their wilderness survival training before she grew a faint smile and continued much more sincerely while she shook his hand "But in all seriousness,it was nice seeing you again. Don't stay away too long this time." to which Shermy,Freida,Sally,Patty Swanson and James nodded their heads while the former couldn't help but agree with Lucy "Yeah it was really nice seeing you,I mean if you would just clean yourself up more than you normally do,you'd actually be top tier in my book. See you around."

"Definitely,I'd be more inclined to invite you to my parties if you did that." Violet nodded her head and politely agreed with Shermy in regards to his own general hygiene while Pig-Pen on the other hand merely rolled his eyes and quietly whispered to Ed on a somewhat relatable and even kind of spiteful level "You don't have to change for us Ed,you're fine just the way you are." to which the two boys gave each other a high five and fist bump afterwards,making the others roll their eyes at the sight.

"Be safe on your travels and…...well everything else you do Ed." Marcie happily requested that Ed stay safe out on his travels and all the other things he typically did before Peppermint Patty lightly punched the boy in the arm and cheerfully suggested "Like Linus said,don't stay away for too long buddy. Maybe if you come back in the spring you could try out for one of our baseball teams if you want." to which Ed grew a little bit of a cautious look on his face and nervously replied "Really? Me? Because last time I tried to play baseball I ended up hitting the coach's wife in the face with a wild pitch,and that's all before I accidentally hit the catcher behind me in the nuts with the baseball bat."

"Really? That ain't too bad,you just got to get in some practice that I'll be more than glad to give you." Peppermint Patty scoffed and nonchalantly brushed Ed's little baseball accident aside before Franklin nodded his head and enthusiastically agreed with the tomboy "Yeah all you need is some practice and you'll be good to go,and hey if you somehow manage to get onto Charlie Brown's team you could possibly make things better for them." to which Charlie Brown rolled his eyes and quietly murmured to himself "I wish." However it was then and there that Ed suddenly noticed Ashlynn oddly enough standing in the back of the crowd as he raised an eyebrow and cheerfully stated while he made his way past everyone "Hey Ashlynn um…..I just want to say that I was not expecting to see you again after all this time but,I'd be lying through my teeth if I said that I wasn't glad to have seen you again. Just make sure to have fun on your trip and all." to which the Scottish girl smiled and happily replied "Oh believe me I will Ed,I wasn't expecting to see you again either but hey…..you never do truly know what's going to happen next in your life." before she and Ed came together for a light hug.

After Ashlynn and Ed broke free of their hug,the latter then glanced over at Rebecca who appeared to have a slightly somber and grief filled look on her face as he slowly walked towards his girlfriend and tried to bid her farewell,but it seemed that the both of them couldn't really find anything to say in this kind of scenario as they merely stayed silent and looked at each other with sadness for what felt like minutes before Ed eventually looked down at Andy and Olaf and politely requested "Please look after her for me." to which the two beagles proudly saluted and gave the boy a hug,with Woodstock,Amy,Jasper,Snoopy and the rest of his siblings quickly joining in.

After it looked like Ed had given everyone aside from Rebecca unfortunately a proper goodbye,he turned his head towards the unwinding road up ahead and meekly stated "Well...here goes nothing everyone. See ya." before he slowly proceeded to begin his long hike towards his hideout,only for Rebecca to suddenly halt him dead in his tracks and frantically interrupted "Wait!" to which everyone raised an eyebrow in confusion while Ed turned around to see what Rebecca had wanted.

"What is it?" Ed questioned in a slightly confused and puzzled tone of voice as Rebecca sighed and timidly explained herself while she reached deep down in her pocket "I have something to give you,it's one last Christmas present and…..something to hopefully remember me bye." before she pulled out what looked like a golden,heart shaped locket with a necklace attached to it and handed it over to Ed to which he opened it up promptly to see what appeared to be a picture of him and Rebecca together at Joe's.

"Hey,this was the picture that Snoopy took of us on our first date." Ed softly gasped and happily remarked when he recognized what the picture inside the locket was before he closed it,put it around his neck and gave his girlfriend a loving hug that she quickly joined in on,making everyone else who was watching from the sidelines smile and in Lucy's case tear up a little,despite her hardest efforts to hide it from the others. After a few more moments that felt like they went on forever,Ed and Rebecca finally managed to let go of each other as the latter slowly stepped on back to join the rest of the gang by the bus before Ed proceeded to start his hike back to his hideout for a second time,but just as he was about to pass by the wooden sign that stated he was leaving Sparkyville as well as Hennepin County,he suddenly stopped dead in his tracks yet again and slowly turned around to face the gang one last time before he smiled and waved them all goodbye,with everyone else happily waving goodbye in response as well along with Snoopy,Spike,Olaf,Andy,Belle,Marbles,Jasper and the rest of the birds and beagle scouts saluting.

Afterwards Ed slowly turned around and finally began to make his way back to his hideout,and this time,he never turned back because soon he eventually disappeared from everyone's line of sight as Charlie Brown turned towards Rebecca and meekly asked "Are you gonna be alright Rebecca?" to which the girl nodded her head and bittersweetly confirmed that she would "Oh yeah I will,he'll be back one day,and that's all that really matters to me. Come on gang,let's head on home. It's a New Year for us after all,so let's not start it off with grief,and instead with cheer. Joe's is on me." before they all nodded their heads;proceeded to board the bus and head on back to their homes,while Ed proceeded to make his way back to his.

_Who can say for certain?_

_Maybe you're still here._

_I feel you all around me._

_Your memories so clear._

_Deep in the stillness._

_I can hear you speak._

_You're still an inspiration._

_Can it be,that you are mine? _

_Forever love._

_And you are watching over me from up above?_

_Fly me up to where you are beyond the distant star._

_I wish upon tonight to see you smile._

_If only for a while to know you're there._

_A breath away's not far,to where you are._

_Are you gently sleeping?_

_Here inside my dream?_

_And isn't faith believing?_

_All power can't be seen._

_As my heart holds you._

_Just one beat away._

_I cherish all you gave me everyday._

'_Cause you are mine._

_Forever love._

_Watching me,from up above._

_And I believe,that angels breath._

_And that love will live on and never leave._

_Fly me up to where you are beyond the distant star._

_I wish upon tonight to see you smile._

_If only for a while to know you're there._

_A breath away's not far,to where you are._

_I know you're there._

_A breath away's not far,to where you are._

**Author's Note:**

**Only one chapter left to go,followed by a very special announcement on my part.**

"**Right Here Waiting." Copyright Of Capitol Records Inc. Written And Performed By Richard Marx.**

"**To Where You Are." Copyright Of 143 Records. Written By Linda Thompson And Richard Marx. Performed By Josh Groban.**


	33. Chapter 33: Epilogue

Chapter 33: Epilogue (Special Guest: Gracie From LivingOnLaughs. Special Guests Mentioned: Lizard Ladies From HPDrummerman.)

*The Real Hero From Avengers Endgame Starts To Play.*

_Dear Pencil Pal,_

_It has been quite a while since I have last written anything to you in regards to how I've been doing and how things have been going over here in Sparkyville,and I think it's time that I finally spill the beans in regards to everything that's been happening lately. This last year in particular has perhaps been the craziest year of my entire life,and I think that's really saying something when you take into account what happened with the Lizard Ladies and all the ruckus they caused during that one summer. It all started way back in the Spring and at the very beginning of the baseball season,we of course lost ourselves yet another game after getting closer and closer than we ever had before to winning,and I guess that was the straw that broke the camel's back since everyone on my team really lay into me,quit the team and even told me to stay out of their lives. It really hurt to say the least,and without really thinking I decided to take their advice and head on out of Sparkyville,and to make a long story short,I ended up getting back at them later on which completely blew up in my face. They were all legitimately sorry that they had said those things to me and I just entirely ignored them and pushed them away,well after I ended up hurting myself badly and got patched up by an animal whisperer named Ed,I headed back to Sparkyville and promptly made amends with everyone,and they all made amends with me in return. But that was just the start of it all,for when the summer came around and we were finally out of school,I found out that a childhood friend of mine named Rebecca,who I had thought died in a car crash with her parents,was STILL alive after all this time and being kept prisoner over at an orphanage in the woods,so me,Sally,Linus,Lucy,Snoopy,Woodstock,Scheroder,Peppermint Patty,Marcie and even some unexpected help from Ed headed off to the orphanage and busted her out of that place,or more specifically Ed did because he actually had to get his entire crew of animals to teach the owner of the place a lesson and send her off to prison. So Rebecca is now living on Patty,Marcie and Franklin's side of town with two of Snoopy's brothers Andy and Olaf as her dogs,along with a new beagle she adopted not too long ago named Roger,and let's just say that Snoopy,Andy and Olaf have really taken a liking to him. And finally during this last holiday season,we actually managed to reopen the community theater downtown and put on two amazing shows in an attempt to raise money due to the bank threatening to take repossession of our homes and leave us all homeless,so with the help of Ed who was visiting,Snoopy's entire family,the son of the owner of the bank named James and one of Ed's best friends named Ashlynn,we all came together and practically saved the entire neighborhood,imagine that. Not to mention that Ed and Rebecca had officially came together as a couple,and James decided to chase his dream of being a world famous stage performer. So yeah this last year was pretty out there,and I don't think anything happening in the future will ever get to the same level of crazy,it really was a chaotic year to behold but…...I have to admit...it was the good kind of chaotic._

_Your Pencil Pal And Friend,_

_Charlie Brown._

*Music Stops.*

* * *

After Charlie Brown had finally finished writing an update on what had been going on with his life for his pencil pal,he slowly glanced over to one of the living room windows to take a look at the lovely springtime weather outside. It was around the end of March at this time and it looked like Spring had finally taken the place of a long and cold Winter,the sky was completely clear and devoid of any kind of clouds,the cherry blossom trees with their lovely pink petals were fully in bloom along with many of the flowers,and all of the local animals that had gone into hibernation during the winter were now up and about. Charlie Brown continued to stare out the window and gawk at how how nice the weather was until Sally suddenly walked by and asked out of curiosity "Big brother have you seen Rebecca anywhere? I've been calling and calling her but she just won't answer. Is she standing me up for the other girls?" to which her brother immediately snapped out of his daze and answered in a slightly shaky tone of voice "Oh,uh,she's out with Ed right now I think." before Sally gasped and stammered in response "Wait? Ed's back?!"

"Yeah,he sent Rebecca a letter in the mail that said he would be coming over to visit for the Spring while Herman,his crew and the rest of Snoopy's family are staying in Needles. Later on we're all gonna meet at Joe's for a welcoming party." Charlie Brown nodded his head and calmly explained the reason why Ed was suddenly back in Sparkyville while he began to put his letter in an envelope to send off to which Sally jumped up in the air and happily exclaimed "Woo-hoo! He's back! I'm really hoping that he'll stay longer this time." before her brother rolled his eyes and meekly repeated himself "Sally I just said that he's staying for the Spring,so that's at least for a few months."

"Oh,okay." Sally got a little red in the face and timidly replied before she slithered off to watch some TV with a slight hint of embarrassment while Charlie Brown looked out the window yet again and quietly murmured to himself with a small smile "I hope you and Ed are having fun out there. I hope you are." Meanwhile Ed and Rebecca themselves were gleefully walking down the sidewalk and under the many cherry blossom trees that were in bloom with both their hands being held as they both proceeded to happily embrace the springtime weather,and yes they were both very happy to see each other again after such a long period of time.

_Why does winter always make you wait,for a glimpse of sun?_

_It takes a simple clue or leap of faith,to know the time will come when._

_Long cold nights._

_Fade into memory looking at the morning light._

_And we will be together._

_Leaving our cares behind forever._

_At the first sign of spring._

_The heat of the sun will shine right through._

_And never a moment comes too soon._

_As the first sign of spring._

Meanwhile down by the long since thawed out lake of Sparkyville,Snoopy,Woodstock,Amy,Roger,Andy,Olaf and even Claudia's dog Gracie were all lollygagging around and fishing themselves up a storm,or more specifically the dogs were since Amy and Woodstock had instead been having trouble with some of the worms much to the amusement and pity of their friends.

_The air is getting warmer by the day,as the thaw begins._

_So put a corner on this page,the leaves are green again._

_And clouded skies,are lifting away right in front of our very eyes._

_And we will be together._

_(At the first sign of spring.)_

Unbeknownst to the band of animals however,Ed and Rebecca were both standing at the top of one of the many trees above and looking down at the lake,they also seemed to be wearing their swimming outfits and standing in front of what looked like a long rope tied to one of the nearby branches

"Uh,Ed,are you sure this is safe?" Rebecca nervously gulped and timidly asked as she continued to glance at the rope and down at the lake to which Ed on the other hand merely rolled his eyes and retorted with an excited grin while he grabbed hold of the rope "Oh I don't think so,but hey,we'll never know unless we try." before he tightened his grip and swung off into the lake with a loud battle cry,causing a massive explosion of water and ultimately resulting in the animals getting soaked in their boat. Ed quickly rose back up from the water and Rebecca came swinging down into the lake only a few moments later as they both cheerfully laughed right in their faces to which the animals looked at each other with a deadpan glare before they started hysterically laughing as well,and was quickly followed by them actually joining the two kids down in the lake.

_(At the first sign of spring.)_

_A new season's begun._

_For fathers and sons._

_And everything grows a little faster._

_And every moment stretches longer._

_And it will only get much stronger._

_Ohh!_

_We will be together._

_Leaving our cares behind forever._

_At the first sign of spring._

_And the heat of the sun will shine right through._

_Never a moment comes too soon._

_As the first sign of spring._

_(At the first sign of spring.)_

_At the first sign of spring._

_(La,la,la,la,la,la,la.)_

_(La,la,la,la,la,la.)_

_(La,la,la,la,la,la,la.)_

_(La,la,la,la,la,la.)_

_(La,la,la,la,la,la,la.)_

* * *

Sometime later on during the day,Rebecca,Ed,Snoopy,Woodstock,Amy,Andy,Olaf,Gracie and Roger were all walking down the street and making their way towards Joe's after they all had their fun over at the lake. Everyone else in the gang was expected to meet up at Joe's as well since like Charlie Brown had told Sally earlier,they were all gonna meet up there to have a small welcoming party for Ed since he had been away for so long.

The group continued to walk down the street and chat about whatever came to mind for a few more minutes until Ed suddenly tried to halt them near a small patch of woods as he stated in a slightly nervous tone of voice "Hold on guys,c-can we stop for a second?" to which the entire group politely did so and turned towards the boy to see what he wanted while Rebecca asked out of curiosity "Sure thing sweetie,but uh,how come?" However it seemed that Ed was actually having some trouble trying to properly explain what he was getting on about since he instead just began to frantically stutter and spout out gibberish in confusion,much to the awe and bewilderment of the rest of the group as they looked at him and each other in dumbfoundedness. After about ten more seconds of this strange display coming from Ed,he finally managed to spit something out as he hung his head and politely requested while he pointed to the woods beside them "Just,uh,would you mind following me through here? It's for something kind of….important." to which Rebecca raised an eyebrow and confusingly obliged in response "Well,alright then if you really want us to." before Ed grew a small yet chipper grin and happily replied "Alright,come on follow me. It ain't too far."

Ed then proceeded to quickly enter the woods in a flash and lead the others towards this mysterious destination of his as they all reluctantly and cautiously followed him,they all continued to make their way past the numerous trees,bushes and branches until Ed suddenly called out from up ahead and past a rather large bush "Alright,we're here!" to which Rebecca gave a sigh of relief and chuckled while she promptly joined him up ahead "Oh finally,I was beginning to think that we were going in-"

However Rebecca's little sny remark would quickly be cut off and brought to a complete halt when she stepped past the bush and saw where they had ended up at. It looked like they were now in a small yet very beautiful glen of flowers and trees beside a tiny little pond of water,and it seemed that there was a very clear and large opening upwards that allowed the sun to shine brightly through the trees and cause numerous god rays to appear all over the place. Rebecca was left absolutely awestruck at the mere sight of it as well as were Snoopy and the rest of the animals too as they all oohed at the display once they had joined Rebecca and Ed at the glen before the former softly gasped and remarked "Wow. I-I can't believe it,look at this place. Oh my gosh it was right here this whole time and we didn't even know it." to which Ed chuckled and happily asked with a small smile "It's beautiful isn't it? I found it when I was on my way here for my visit,and I just knew that I had to show it to you somewhere down the line."

Unfortunately it was then and there that Ed's bright and chipper smile slowly started to fade away into a saddened frown as he hung his head and somberly continued "But I also ended up doing some research about my original parents a little while ago out of curiosity and…...I found out that this is where their home was. I say was because…..not too long after they took me to the orphanage,the whole place caught fire,and there were no survivors." to which Rebecca and the others quietly gasped and looked up at Ed with concern and shock before the former timidly replied "Oh my gosh Ed,I'm so sorry. This is where your parents lived?"

"Mmm-hmm,after their funeral was held,after they were buried at the cemetery and after given a proper memorial,the city decided not to build another house here out of respect for them. So it looks like this place has just been sitting here for years and years while nature slowly started to take it back." Ed nodded his head and meekly clarified things further on the near verge of tears while he sat down on the ground as Andy,Gracie,Roger,Snoopy and Olaf slowly walked up to the boy and sat down next to him in an attempt to try and comfort him,with Rebecca,Amy and Woodstock following shortly afterwards before the boy sighed and continued "You know I….I know I've gone on and on about how glad I am with the way things turned out for me,but I still wish from time to time that I could have known my parents. Just to know what they were like you know?"

Rebecca after hearing that however suddenly started to develop a small and uplifted smile as she slowly wrapped her arm around her boyfriend and tried to lighten up his mood "Well,the way I see it Ed,I think you already know the answer,because I got a strong feeling that they were a lot like you." before the animals smiled and nodded their heads in agreement while Snoopy,Olaf and Andy licked him on the cheek to which he smiled as well and wrapped his arm around Rebecca and the dogs.

_For it's out of the darkness that we learn to see._

_And out of the silence that songs come to be._

_And all that we dream of awaits patiently._

_There is life._

_(There is.) _

_There is life._

_Mmmmmmmmm._

**The End.**

**Author's Note**

**Hold up,I'm not done yet,I still got some special announcements coming up in one more chapter regarding some….future projects.**

"**The Real Hero." Copyright Of Marvel Music Inc. Composed By Alan Silvestri.**

"**First Sign Of Spring." Copyright Of Walt Disney Records. Written By Michelle Lewis And Daniel C. Petty. Performed By Michelle Lewis.**

"**There Is Life Reprise." Copyright Of Walt Disney Pictures. Written By Friedman David Allen. Performed By Alison Krause.**


	34. Special Announcements And Thank You's

Special Announcements And Thank You's

Howdy there,Animatic Psychopath here and I have just wrapped up my third Peanuts Musical that I really hope you enjoyed,and I just wanted to take the time to get in a few special announcements and thank you's out there while I'm here. First off it's no secret that I love Peanuts,it's probably my second favorite thing ever second only to Kingdom Hearts,and I always do my best to put as much effort into my stories as possible. Speaking of stories,I'm more than glad to announce that my next big-time story is gonna be my very first PEANUTS: The Next Chapter Fan Special,and it's gonna be known as You Ain't Home On The Range,Charlie Brown,a crossover with the massively overlooked and underrated(in my opinion) Disney film,Home On The Range. You can expect to see this coming up soon in the future along with many other fan episodes and one shots as well as with my own original content.

Second,I would like to give a huge shout out and thank you to LivingOnLaughs and HPDrummerman for all the amazing support you've given me in the last year,although I don't always have the time to fully give my thoughts on all your stories,I always make sure to take time out of my schedule to read what y'all pump out and I always have a great time reading.

Oh yeah speaking of which,I also have a few small updates about my account and some other stories I'm gonna be working on in the future. First off at one point I am gonna continue Peanuts: The Last Stand since that story has been on the back burner for a very long time,I'm gonna make a sequel series to It's Galavant,Charlie Brown known as It's Galavant,Charlie Brown: The Final Season,and I'm gonna wrap up my Kingdom Hearts and Peanuts crossover I've been working on as well. So now that all those announcements are out of the way,I've been Animatic Psychopath and I'll see you all real soon. Ta-ta!


End file.
